More to Christmas
by Twin-One
Summary: TWINSFIC! The Twins set out to learn what Christmas is and end up as guardians to a lonely orphan who thinks the Twins are actually Christmas angels.
1. The Book

**Author's Note:** This Twinsfic was originally written as a Christmas gift to all of my awesome readers, friends and reviewers in 2003. Each Monday of December, on up until Christmas Eve, I added several chapters to it (either two or three), and on Christmas Eve I published the remaining chapters.

And in case you wonder, the Twins are adults in this story like they are in Reloaded. Just thought I'd put that here in case some of you get confused as to what age they are.

**Disclaimer:** I am only a fan and do not own anything of the Matrix! All characters, names and anything else pertaining to the Matrix are owned and copyrighted by their rightful owners (the Wachowski brothers and Warner Brothers). The only thing I own is the fanfic itself and any fan-made characters that were created by me exclusively for the story. This fanfic and any of my other fanfics may not be copied, altered, edited or posted elsewhere without my permission. For those of you who may speak another language please feel free to translate my story into your native language for better understanding and your personal enjoyment ONLY, or to show to a friend that may not speak English.

**Rated G –** All age enjoyment

* * *

December, the time of year when people gather together to spend time with family and friends, shop for gifts, decorate trees with lights, tinsel and other lovely decorations. A time to watch traditional movies and sing favorite songs such as Silent Night and Deck the Halls. A beautiful holiday filled with warmth, caring, love, family, and all of those good things as well as the celebration of the birth of Christ. The time when snow usually falls and children participate in such outdoor activities like building snowmen, snowball fights, and snow forts. All over the world people know of Christmas whether if they celebrate it or not. Every year thousands all over celebrate it in their own special ways, depending on the culture and country. But wonder if there is someone out there who has never even heard of Christmas? Doesn't know that Christmas exists? Scary thought, isn't it? There is such a story that is true. Sit back, relax, and I'll tell it to you.

From what I remember it goes something like this:

"One." Two shouted coming into the room where his twin brother was busy leaning over a table putting together a model of a fancy looking old Cadillac.

"What is it?" One answered, not bothering to look up from what he was doing.

"What is Christmas?"

One looked up.

"Christmas?"

"Yeah, Christmas."

"I haven't the faintest idea. Why do you ask?" One turned his attention back to his model. The room went silent for awhile. All that could be heard was the crackle of the fire in the nearby fireplace.

"I was looking through some of the books in the Merovingian's library and came across this one stuffed in the very back on one of the bottom shelves." Two handed the small book to One. One looked up from his car then took the book in his hands and began flipping through it, stopping occasionally to read a piece of it.

"The Night before Christmas?" One muttered aloud.

He continued to flip more pages.

"It's just a child's nursery rhyme book, Two. That's all it is." One quickly let the remaining pages flip then handed it back to Two. "Something you read a child before going to bed. Wonder what the Mero is doing with something like that anyway." One picked up a fender and placed it up to his car to see how it looked and fit before gluing it in place. Two wasn't convinced, however.

"But look at all the neat pictures in it, One. Why is this tree decorated like it is? And why is it in someone's living room?"

"How should I know? Besides it's just fantasy. It's what they call make-believe. Something that has to do with, um, you know the imagination." One gestured with his hand while trying to concentrate on his work at the same time.

Two looked over the book he held, flipping several of the pages and looking over the black and white photos in it.

"I'll go ask the Merovingian. Maybe he'll know." Two got up from the chair he had been sitting in and started toward the door.

"I dunno if I'd do that or not." One struggled with a piece of his model.

"Why?"

"The Mero hasn't been in too good a mood this week, in case you haven't noticed."

"Oh, that's right." Two again looked at the book he held as he thought for awhile. The Merovingian was usually the calm and reasonable type, but he had been in a terribly grouchy mood all that week for some unknown reason and had tried finding every excuse he could to yell at the Twins and everyone else around him, including his wife. More than once, he had called the Twins into his study and yelled at them for a good hour or so until they had about forgotten what it was he was yelling at them about. Two hated being called to the Mero's study. When he called them, it usually meant that they were in trouble and were about to get punished. Living with the Mero one never knew if that punishment was going to be getting yelled at in French for two hours or something else worse.

"I'll take my chances." Two finally said.

"I pity you then." One said over his shoulder.

"You can stand by with the phone ready to call 911 if it'll make you feel any better." Two snickered.

"Ha! With the mood the Mero's been in this week, it'd be more like the morgue I'd be calling." One grinned.

"We'll see." Two walked out of the room and down the hall.

Two stopped outside the study room door, trying to gather enough courage to knock. His hands felt sweaty and so did his pale face. He swallowed and looked around. Maybe one of the other henchmen would walk up and go in with him. He raised his fist and quickly knocked on the oak door. Maybe the Mero wouldn't be in; maybe he'd be in another part of the chateau or better, at his restaurant.

"Yes!" The angry voice of the Merovingian roared from inside. Two quickly grabbed hold of the doorknob and turned it.

"Yes? What is it?" the Mero asked as Two stepped in.

"I wish to ask you something." Two's voice was about to go dry.

"Well come in and shut the door."

Two closed the door behind him and walked over to a chair beside the lit fireplace. The Mero's study would have been a nice place to be if it weren't for the thought of punishment being given every time you entered it.

"Sit down and ask what you wanted to ask." The Mero growled. Two seated himself in the plump chair, careful to watch that his long coat didn't drag on the hearth. Two stared into the fire for a few minutes.

"Well!" the agitated voice of the Mero snapped Two back. "What did you want?"

"Sir," Two began, swallowing nervously. "I wanted to ask you," Two's voice was lost. His eyes went down to the Mero's fingers tapping impatiently on the desk.

"Ask me what? Speak up!"

"Ask you what Christmas is." Two quickly got out. The Mero's eyes widened and Two cowered in his chair. He knew he was dead. If the Mero hadn't killed him before now, he was certain that he'd do it in the next few seconds. The Mero, dressed in his rich house robe, got up from his fancy chair and walked toward Two. Two knew a slap across the face was coming. He braced every muscle in his face for the painful blow he knew too well. First the Mero always took off the shades then he'd raise his hand up and slap as hard as he could and warned them against phasing out until the pain went away. He wanted them to feel and remember it.

"What did you just say?" the tall dark figure of the Merovingian towered over Two.

"I-I want to know what Christmas is." Two held up the book. The Mero snatched it from Two's hand and started flipping through it. Two did all he could to keep from whimpering and crying like a scared child as the Mero thumbed through the book in silence.

"I see that you've been in my library again." The Mero said at last. Two nodded. "And where did you find this book at?"

"It was hidden on a bottom shelf, in the back of some other books." Two's nose twitched nervously.

"I see." The Mero mused. The room grew silent again with the sound of the Mero slamming the book shut being the only noise. Two didn't dare say anything.

"Why do you wish to know about Christmas?" The Mero finally said, turning to Two again after walking around the room.

"I just do." Two answered.

"I don't think you need to know." The Mero quickly said.

"But,"

"Two" The Mero's faced turned into one that told Two he'd better shut up.

"But I want to know! Is it so bad that you can't tell me?"

"Two, I'm giving you about three seconds to get out of here."

Two got up and started walking toward the door. He turned back to the Mero and opened his mouth to say something else.

"Un" the Mero counted in French.

Two opened the door.

"But why can't you tell me what it is?" Two softly said.

"Deux" The Mero continued.

"Please?" Two grinned.

"Get out of here!" The Mero lifted the book he held. Two ran out into the hall, the Mero throwing the book behind him with enough force to reach out into the hall and hit Two in the back. The door slammed shut, shaking the walls. Two covered his head, thinking the ceiling would cave in.

"And don't you ever mention the word 'Christmas' in my presence again!" The Mero shouted from inside. A picture of the Eiffel Tower fell off of the wall from the impact of the slammed door and made Two jump when it hit the floor. He looked down at the book lying at his feet. He sighed and picked it up.

"You still alive?" One looked up when Two came into the room and threw himself down in a chair opposite from him.

"Yeah." Two sighed.

"I heard the Mero and the door slamming."

"All the way up here!"

"Uh huh." One looked over what he had finished on his model. "So, did you find out what Christmas is?"

"Yeah."

Long silence.

"Well?"

"We aren't supposed to mention the word in the Mero's presence." Two stared at the book lying on his lap.

"Why?"

"I dunno. You know Mero. He said he didn't think I needed to know what it is, then he got mad and told me to get out. After that he threw the book at me and slammed the door."

One shook his head. More silence followed the conversation.

"It's snowing again." Two whispered, looking out the window across the room. He turned and looked at the Christmas book again. Picking it up he began reading the first page. As he continued reading, he got all the more interested and curious to know what Christmas was.

"Sounds like Christmas is a holiday of some kind." He muttered to no one in particular.

"Maybe Persephone would know." One suggested.

"Yeah! That's a good idea." Two got up from his chair. "I'll go ask her right now. Care to come?"

"Sure. Why not." One placed the piece of the car he held down on the table and walked toward Two.


	2. Trying to Find Christmas

It was some time before the Twins finally found the Merovingian's lovely wife, Persephone. She was in one of the chateau's rooms straightening up some knickknacks on some of the shelves. The dark haired female vampire didn't look menacing on the outside, but her personality could sometimes be considered menacing. She was unpredictable to the point that one could never quite guess what she was thinking or planning to do next. She could be menacing and cruel one minute, and sweet and innocent the next. Unlike other vampires, Persephone didn't feed on human blood; instead she fed on human emotions.  
  
The Twins hesitated a moment before walking into the room. One pushed Two forward and silently urged him to ask her.  
  
"Go ask her." One whispered.  
  
"Aren't you coming?"  
  
"You're the one wanting to know what Christmas is so you ask her."  
  
Two sighed and looked toward Persephone standing on the other side of the room. They both knew that Persephone could have a bad temper just like her husband, sometimes even worse. Who knows what her reaction would be if asked what Christmas was.  
  
"Aren't you even curious as to what Christmas is?" Two looked at One. One shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"I dunno. I suppose so. But I still say it's just a child's fantasy."  
  
Two looked at Perse again and prepared himself to walk across the room, but he didn't have to. Persephone caught sight of the Twins and walked over to them.  
  
"Yes? What do you want?" she said, approaching.  
  
"Can I ask you a question?" Two said in a low voice.  
  
"I guess. What is it?"  
  
"Do you know what Christmas is?"  
  
"Shhh. I wouldn't say that if I were you." Perse quickly put her hand up to Two's mouth and looked around as if there were other people in the room. Persephone looked long and hard at Two until he became a little nervous.  
  
"Why do you want to know about Christmas?"  
  
"I found this book in the Mero's library and I was curious to know." Two handed the book to Perse, who took it and started flipping through its pages.  
  
"I asked the Mero, but he got mad at me so I thought I'd come to you."  
  
Persephone stood in silence and calmly flipped through the pages of the storybook. Several times she stopped and read a page before going on. The Twins could tell that she probably knew what Christmas was and that she wanted to tell them, but something kept her from doing it. Finally Perse handed the book back to Two and turned to go about her business.  
  
"Sorry, I can't help you." was all she said.  
  
"But," Two stuttered.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Two lowered his head in disappointment then looked at One.  
  
"Come on. I think we'd better go." One turned and went down the hall. Two soon followed.  
  
"I don't understand why no one here can tell us what this Christmas is." Two said, trying to catch up to One, who was walking at a fast pace.  
  
"It's a child's fantasy, Two, that's all it is. Now will you just forget about it?" One sighed.  
  
"It's not a child's fantasy. If it was then the Mero or Perse would have told us. Did you see the way Perse looked just then? She wanted to tell us, but she couldn't."  
  
One stopped walking and looked at his brother. He was right; Perse did look like she had wanted to tell them.  
  
"So what are you going to try next?"  
  
"I'm going to ask around. Maybe Cain and Abel would know. Or Vlad. I'll try Vlad." Two ran on ahead of One and turned a corner before descending down another hall."  
  
One shook his head while watching his brother disappear.  
  
"I hope you know what you're doing, brother." He whispered out loud. "I certainly hope you know what you're doing."  
  
Two approached Cain and Abel cautiously. The werewolves were sitting in two reclining chairs, watching TV in one of the chateau's rooms. Rarely did the Twins ever go near these two, but right now was an emergency, or at least it was to Two. Slowly and carefully Two crept through the dark room which was lit only by the light of the TV.  
  
"Uh, excuse me." Two's voice was about to leave him. At first there was no movement. Two walked closer to the chairs and tapped one of the guys' shoulders.  
  
"What do you want?" said Abel, looking up at the twin.  
  
"Um, can you tell me what Christmas is?"  
  
Both guys looked at each other then back at Two.  
  
"Don't you have anything better to do to entertain yourself, ghost?" Abel asked.  
  
"Uh," Two began.  
  
"Leave us alone." Said Cain before turning back to the TV.  
  
Two sighed and walked out of the room. Wasn't anyone going to tell him what Christmas was? There was really only one person left. Vlad. Vlad was hardly ever seen by anyone in the chateau. In fact, probably some don't know he even lives there or exists. Well, except for the vampires and the Merovingian himself. Two and One had seen him several times when he came into the Mero's office for his next orders. Vlad was the cold and dark leader of the Merovingian's vampires, and was known for torturing his victims in the cruelest of ways. Two shivered at the thought of meeting him and asking about Christmas. He didn't know how Vlad liked to torture, but he had heard screams upon many occasions, supposedly coming from where Vlad lurked. Which most of the time was the chateau's dark attic. Maybe he should get One to go with him. Two turned and went down the hall toward where he had left One.  
  
"Go with you where?!" One almost dropped a piece of his model. "Uh uh. I didn't mind going with you to ask Persephone, but to go where Vlad is, I do not think so!"  
  
Two lowered his head.  
  
"No one's told you what Christmas is so far, what makes you think Vlad, of all people, is going to tell you?"  
  
Two shrugged.  
  
"You go if you want, but I'm staying right here."  
  
"Ok! I'll go." Two walked toward the door. "Maybe he'll tell me, maybe he won't. It's worth a try anyway."  
  
After not finding Vlad in the attic where he normally stayed at, Two made his way to the only other room of the chateau that Vlad was known for lurking in. The door to the room creaked open as Two pushed on it and walked in. A fire blazed in the huge fireplace across the room and lit candles on tall candlesticks dotted about gave the place a creepy atmosphere. There was little or no furniture, making the place echo any noise that was uttered. The clunk, clunk of Two's boots seemed to get louder each time he tried walking slower to keep them from making any noise at all.  
  
"H-hello?" Two finally got out. Nothing. "Anyone here?" he tried again. More silence followed except for the crackling of the fire. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark figure came down from the ceiling and lunged at Two. Two dropped the book he held when he changed into ghost form to protect himself from the attack. His attacker went through his translucent body and disappeared into another shadow. Two materialized again and dropped to his knees before jerking his head this way and that to see if something else was going to come toward him. Two's chest heaved as he got to his feet again. He picked up the book, all the time looking around the room for whoever or whatever it had been.  
  
"What do you want?" a dark and evil voice slowly asked. Two spun around and looked behind him where the dark figure had disappeared moments before.  
  
"Vlad?" Two stuttered.  
  
"Yes? State your business and be gone." A voice again said.  
  
"Yes, be gone!" another voice called out from another part of the room. Two turned back around quickly toward the second voice, pulling his razor out and throwing it. The razor hit something in the darkness and a crash was heard.  
  
"Please control yourself. You want to kill someone?"  
  
"Would be nice." Two stuttered. "Sorry about that." Two watched as his razor slid out of the darkness, across the floor and stopped at his boot. He leaned over and picked it up.  
  
"What is it that you want?" Vlad's voice grew stern. Two jumped and turned around. He gasped as Vlad came out into the light. The creature was tall and lanky and was dressed in black clothing that fit tight around his thin figure, complete with a long black trench coat. His tall black boots had spikes sticking out from the sides and his short shoulder length hair was raven black and glistened in the candle's light. His face and hands were pale and stood out from the rest of his body, making it look as though his face and hands hovered in the air. Like most of the creatures that lived in the chateau, Vlad had the signature dark colored fingernails, which added even more to his unpleasant appearance. Although, Vlad's nails were a bit longer and pointed than most others Two had seen, making them almost look like claws instead of regular nails.  
  
Vlad walked up to Two and stared at him. Two slowly handed the book to Vlad.  
  
"D-do you know what Christmas is?" Two stuttered. Vlad snatched the book away from Two and threw it toward the door leading out into the hall.  
  
"Get out of here!" Vlad sneered.  
  
"Not until you answer my question."  
  
Vlad huffed and grabbed Two by his shirt collar.  
  
"How would you like to be tortured?" Vlad pushed his face into Two's face.  
  
"How would you like for me to get a wooden stake?" Two smirked.  
  
Vlad's nose flared.  
  
"You think you're pretty funny don't you? I'll have you know that I would love to torture someone like you." Vlad pressed one of his sharp nails into Two's cheek and smiled. "And I'm not afraid to do it either."  
  
Two swallowed and squirmed a little. Vlad took one last look at Two then threw him across the room. Before he could hit the hard floor, Two phased and reappeared standing out in the hall next to his book. He quickly grabbed the book and ran for all he was worth, Vlad's evil laughter echoing behind him. 


	3. The Twins get Punished

Two ran all the way to the room where his brother was still trying to put together his model Cadillac, and slammed the door behind him. Two leaned against the door and breathed heavy trying to catch his breath while One stood and stared silently at him.  
  
"What happened?" One asked.  
  
Two continued to breath hard, reaching once to brush away some of his dreadlocks that had managed to dangle in front of his face. He shakily adjusted his shades then walked over and sat down in a chair. One leaned his hand on the table and put his other hand on his hip, waiting for an answer.  
  
"Vlad didn't tell me anything." Two finally got out. "Just threatened me and threw me out."  
  
One shook his head.  
  
"That guy is not to be believed." Two leaned his head back against the chair and sighed.  
  
"I know what you mean." Said One, turning to his model again.  
  
"I thought he was supposed to be on our side." Two looked at One.  
  
"He is on our side."  
  
"Then why did he say something about torturing me?"  
  
"I think he wants to torture everyone."  
  
Silence followed the Twins' conversation for a good long while until a slight knock was heard at the door. The Twins, in unison, said for whomever it was to come in. Much to their surprise, the Merovingian walked in. One stopped what he was doing and looked up. Two felt a little uneasy at the way the Mero looked at them.  
  
"I want the both of you to come with me to my study." The Mero softly said, before turning to go out the door again. Two and One exchanged stares then proceeded to follow.  
  
Once in the Merovingian's study or office, the Twins seated themselves and restlessly waited for the Mero to speak. Two wiped his sweaty hands down his coat several times before the Mero walked up in front of him. A chill ran down Two as he looked up into the Mero's emotionless face. He almost wanted to brace himself for a slap across the face, which he could almost feel coming. The Mero continued to eye Two.  
  
"I understand that you've been tracing about the place asking people what Christmas is. Am I correct?" The Merovingian finally said in his calm and smooth French voice. Two nodded his head. The Mero sighed and looked at One. One only shrugged and looked as innocent as he could, hoping he'd get out of any plans the Mero had in mind for them.  
  
"Why do you wish so much to know about Christmas?" The Mero leaned down and peered in Two's face.  
  
"I-I," Two stuttered then swallowed. "I just do. I've never heard of it before so I wish to know what or who it is."  
  
"What did I tell you earlier?"  
  
"That you didn't think I needed to know."  
  
"Correct." The Mero pulled himself away from Two and walked over to his desk. "As punishment, both of you will be locked away in this room." The Mero held up a key.  
  
"For how long?" Two's eyes widened.  
  
"For the rest of today."  
  
"B-but I didn't do anything!" One jumped up from his chair.  
  
"Silence!" the Mero snapped. "You will accompany your brother anyway."  
  
The Mero walked out into the hall and shouted something in French then came back in, followed by two Dobermen or werewolves.  
  
"Take these two to this room." The Mero handed the two guys the key he held. "They're being punished for disobeying me. They will remain here for the rest of the day until they learn."  
  
Both twins slowly got up and walked toward the Dobermen.  
  
"No phasing. Understand?" the Mero calmly told the Twins as they walked past him. They nodded and followed the Dobermen until they came to one of the rooms of the chateau. It was a warm and cozy room filled with furniture and a lit fireplace. At first the Twins thought it wouldn't be so bad, but one of the Dobermans closed the doors, stuck the key he held in the lock, and turned it. When he opened the doors again, a gray and cold empty room was in the place of the other one.  
  
"I liked the other room the best." Two grinned at the Doberman closest to him. The werewolf frowned and grabbed hold of Two's arm and shoved him forward into One. The Twins looked at each other and walked into the barren room, which was lit only by the light coming in through the huge window across from the door. The door slammed shut behind them.  
  
"Humph! No sense of humor." Two mumbled to himself.  
  
"Now you've done it!" One shouted at Two. "Couldn't leave well enough alone could you?"  
  
"I'm sorry, One." Two said in a low voice. One walked over to the window and looked out over the mountains. It was snowing again. He sighed and sat down on the bare floor and leaned against the window.  
  
"I'm cold." Two whimpered, hugging himself to try and get warmth.  
  
"Don't look at me. You're the one that got us into this. Besides we have heavy coats on."  
  
"I don't care. I'm still cold." Two wrapped up in his silver coat. "Can I come over and sit beside you?" Two said, hopefully.  
  
"Don't even think about it." One mumbled. Two frowned and rubbed his hands together.  
  
"Let's get out of here."  
  
"You heard what the Mero said, no phasing. Goodness knows what he has in mind for us if we disobey that order." One sighed again.  
  
"I don't mean phase, I mean this!" Two pulled out a key from his waistcoat pocket.  
  
"Where did you get that?" One started to get up.  
  
"Never leave home without one." Two grinned. He turned and walked over to the door and stuck the key in the lock. One by this time had gotten up from his place beside the window and was curiously looking over Two's shoulder.  
  
"If the Mero finds out about this, I'm not going to be anywhere near you." One whispered. The lock clicked and Two turned to One and smiled.  
  
"See? Easy." Two grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. The Twins suddenly felt a cold wind blow over them. Two jerked his head around and gasped. The door opened up to the outside of the chateau, overlooking a massive drop down the side of the snow-covered mountain. One step and the Twins would have been tumbling down it.  
  
"Whoa!" Two shouted before nervously backing up and quickly slamming the door. He leaned against it and breathed. One stood with a smirk across his lips, his arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"Easy, huh?"  
  
"I hate these doors." Two whispered.  
  
"Shall we try it again?"  
  
Two turned around, locked the door, took the key out, and placed it back in. This time opening it, they found themselves looking into the Merovingian's restaurant. The Twins' eyes widened when they saw the Mero sitting at his usual table across the room.  
  
"Close the door!" One scrambled with Two to get hold of the door. Both of them leaned against it and breathed hard.  
  
"That was another close one." Two sighed. "Think he saw us?"  
  
"I don't know!" One said in a frustrated tone. "What kinda key do you have there anyway?"  
  
"Skeleton key." Two grinned. "It was one of the keys the Keymaker threw away."  
  
Two tried the door a third time, this time opening it up to the Great Hall where Persephone was, at that time, walking through it. They gasped and slammed the door before she had a chance to turn around and see them.  
  
"Aren't we ever going to get out of here?!" Two tried catching his breath.  
  
"Why don't you open up the Keymaker's cell and let him out while you're at it?" One said in a sarcastic tone.  
  
"I can't. His cell door doesn't have any keyhole on it, remember?" Two breathed.  
  
Two turned around and prepared to open the door a fourth time, but One snatched the key from his hand.  
  
"I'll try it this time. Step back."  
  
Two stepped back a little ways and watched One open the door. This time they were looking into the chateau's garage. One turned to Two and smiled before tossing him the key. 


	4. Escape to the City

"Come on, let's get out of here before the Merovingian finds out we're gone." Two shouted to One as he ran to their shiny black Escalade.  
  
"Where do we go?"  
  
"Let's go down town or something. I still want to know what Christmas is so maybe we can find out there." Two opened the driver's side door of their car. He stopped at feeling a tap on his shoulder. He turned to One.  
  
"I'm driving."  
  
Two frowned. It wasn't fair. One always got to drive. Two didn't say anything and instead slowly moved to the passenger's seat. He reached under the seat and dragged out a machine gun. One put his hand on the gun's muzzle and softly shook his head.  
  
"Not today, Two."  
  
Two frowned even more and roughly stuffed the gun back under the seat. He crossed his arms, leaned back and sighed. When One had started the car, Two reached to turn on the heat then wrapped his silver coat tight around him.  
  
"Don't worry. We'll have some fun in a different way this time." said One, turning the car toward the garage's exit.  
  
It wasn't long before the Twins were out on the road. It was still snowing heavily, at times making it hard to see anything in front of the car.  
  
"There's ice on the road." One smiled. Two's lips curled into a smile as well.  
  
"Do it." he whispered.  
  
"Hang on."  
  
One floored the car, making it speed up to incredible velocity. After getting up enough speed and going fast for a few minutes, One slammed on the brakes causing the black Escalade to spin its wheels and zigzag all over the road. Several cars around them swerved off into the ditch to avoid collision with the wild Cadillac. When the car came to a stop, Two looked at One.  
  
"That was a good one!" Two laughed. "Did you see those cars swerve off of the road?"  
  
"Yeah. Too bad they didn't hit the trees though."  
  
"Try again?" Two's eyes sparkled. One smiled and turned the car around and again speeded up, the car's wheels spinning on the slick ice. The black Escalade sped down the road at top speed, sending everyone around them into a frenzy. Cars and trucks swerving to avoid the Twins ran off into the ditches, several hitting a tree or a lamp pole. One again slammed on the brakes, causing their car to spin around in the middle of the road and hit some of the cars coming in their direction. From a distance, one would probably say that it looked like the burly brawl, only done with cars. When the Escalade came to a halt, both One and Two high-fived each other after seeing the damage they had caused.  
  
"That was the best one yet!" Two grinned from ear to ear.  
  
"Uh oh. Hear that?" One's head perked.  
  
"Police!" Two gasped. "Let's get out of here."  
  
One grabbed the wheel and violently jerked the Cadillac off the road and started driving down through a field, snow flying in all directions as they went. The snow covered hills and bumps mixed with One's wild driving made it a rough ride. Two bounced up and down in his seat, at times nearly falling over and into One.  
  
"Do you always have to cut through a bumpy field?" Two groaned when his head hit the sunroof above him.  
  
"It's a shortcut. Besides, police are back there. You don't want to get arrested do you?"  
  
"After experiencing this, it doesn't sound so bad." Two fell over onto One and struggled to get back up. One gave him a push that sent him bouncing over toward the door.  
  
"Told you to put that seatbelt on." One mumbled, trying to keep his eyes on where he was going. "Hang on! Dip coming up."  
  
Two gasped at the sudden drop in the field that made the car feel like it was floating on air for a few seconds before coming down again, bouncing and bobbing like a spring.  
  
"Talk about potholes." One whispered under his breath. "That one was big enough to lose the car in." One glanced over at Two, who still had a firm grip on his seat. "You ok?"  
  
Two slowly turned his head toward One.  
  
"What do you mean lose the car? I think I lost my stomach back there!" Two let go of the seat. "What is it with you and using the road? We're miles away from the police by now."  
  
One grinned.  
  
"Driving through a field's more interesting. Don't you agree?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Ok, ok we'll get back on the main road." One swerved the car to the left and started making his way toward the street. Two sighed with relief as soon as the Escalade's wheels hit the smooth surface of the highway.  
  
"Look, we're nearly there." Two pointed to the skyscrapers of the city ahead.  
  
"See? My trip through the field paid off after all."  
  
"Yeah, well it would have been more interesting if we had been chasing someone."  
  
"With a machine gun?" One glanced at Two.  
  
"Yes!" Two's eyes grew big behind his shades.  
  
All was silent for awhile.  
  
"The Merovingian is going to hit the roof when he finds out what we've done." Two softly said.  
  
"Well there's one thing he can't get mad at us about."  
  
"Oh? What's that?" Two looked at One in a puzzled way.  
  
"We didn't phase." One smiled. Two smirked.  
  
"Hey, there's no ice on the road here." said Two, in disappointment.  
  
"I know. Disappointing isn't it?" One reached and turned on the windshield wipers to knock off the snow. Two reached to crank up the heat.  
  
"You still cold?" One glanced at his brother, who was trying to bundle up in his coat.  
  
"Yes! I haven't been able to get warm since the Mero sent us to that chilled room."  
  
Coming into the city limits, the Twins slowed their car down and looked around them. The city was decorated like they had never seen before. Both of them exchanged glances and continued to look around, curiously. 


	5. Wonderland of Curious Things

One pulled the Escalade up into a parking space beside the sidewalk and stopped. Before the car had even stopped rolling, Two jumped out. One walked up beside Two and both looked around in amazement and awe. The city's bare trees were strung with tiny brightly colored lights and the same lights were shaped into snowflakes and other designs and hung across the tops of the lamp poles. The store windows displayed a variety of brightly colored and exotic decorations from shiny tinsel and lights to red and green ribbons, bows, and cloth. There were Nativities and statues of reindeer and of snowmen and Santa Clauses. Among all of the curious décor, beautiful music played. Some of it came from the band across the street, while the rest came from inside the stores.  
  
The Twins stood dumbfounded and speechless in the middle of the sidewalk for sometime. Several people walked around them and said a friendly 'Merry Christmas' not even realizing who or what the Twins were or what they were capable of.  
  
"Child's fantasy, huh?" said Two, sarcastically.  
  
One said nothing.  
  
"Look, One, that tree over there is decorated just like the one in my book." Two pointed to a beautifully decorated tree in one of the shop windows. The Twins walked over and peered into the store at the tree. It was covered in many brightly colored shaped ornaments, balls, shiny tinsel, and lights and was topped with a sparkly gold star. The Twins exchanged glances then went on to look at all the many other things dotted about the store's window. There was fake snow and boxes wrapped in brightly colored paper with bows on top.  
  
"Alright, I'm convinced that this 'Christmas' is something you celebrate." One finally said.  
  
"Yeah, but I still want to know why they decorate an old tree."  
  
"Let's go see the Oracle. She'd know!" One tugged on Two's arm.  
  
"No wait! I still want to look around." Two jerked One back.  
  
The Twins walked down the sidewalk and looked in all the store windows at the many shiny and beautiful sights that lay before them. After a long walk, Two stopped One by tugging on his arm.  
  
"One, I want to go in one of the stores."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because it's cold out here!!" Two wrapped his coat around him. "Besides, I want to touch that shiny fuzzy stuff wrapped around the trees."  
  
One gave Two a weird look.  
  
"I think it is cold out here. Your brain's frozen."  
  
Two sheepishly smiled and shrugged. One, shaking his head, led the way into one of the warm and beautiful stores.  
  
"Feels good in here." Two sighed at the warmth. While Two warmed up, the Twins occupied their time by walking through the store and looking at the many Christmas things it had to offer. The place was crowded, making it very hard and difficult for the both of them to make it through some isles.  
  
"Alright, there's your shiny fuzzy stuff. Touch it." One gestured at a display tree. Two smiled and walked up to the tree and slowly reached to touch the shiny red tinsel garland. One smirked at the thought of having a little fun with this.  
  
"Aw, c'mon and touch it. It's not like it's gonna bite you."  
  
Two jerked his hand back.  
  
"It kinda looks like a snake, doesn't it?" Two eyed the garland.  
  
"Now why would humans put a snake around a tree?"  
  
"Snakes get in trees."  
  
"Are there any fuzzy snakes that have shiny skin?" One had to fight back a laugh.  
  
"No."  
  
"Then touch it and let's get out of here." One sighed. Two slowly inched his hand up to the shiny garland again, this time touching it. He was relieved that it wasn't a snake after all, and was in fact soft and limp, and sparkled beautifully when the light hit it.  
  
"One, come and touch it. It feels good." Two grinned in fascination. One glared at his brother through his shades, then walked over to him and touched the garland. One had to admit that it did feel good. After the curiosity of the garland wore off, the Twins moved to the tree's other decorations. When that was old, they moved on to the other isles.  
  
"One" Two stopped while going down one of the store's isles.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Who's this old guy?" Two pointed at a Santa decoration. "I've seen him more than once."  
  
"How should I know?" One shrugged. "I know the same about this Christmas as you do."  
  
"Maybe the Oracle can tell us."  
  
"If we ever get to the Oracle." One looked at Two. "Are you warm enough yet?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Good, then let's get out of here and go find the Oracle." One led the way to the front door and pushed on it.  
  
"Do we walk or drive?"  
  
"Walk. I want to see more of this Christmas." Two started down the sidewalk. Several hours of walking and viewing the city's many Christmas decorations and lights, the Twins came to a small park where the freshly fallen snow was packed on the ground. They both stopped to rest before continuing on. Two, again, was freezing and wrapped his coat around him.  
  
"I wish we were back at the chateau." Said Two, shivering and blowing into his hands to warm them. "At least there we could read a book in front of a nice warm fire."  
  
One turned to Two.  
  
"Don't blame me. You're the one who wanted to come out here."  
  
"I'm not blaming you."  
  
The Twins sighed and leaned back against the bench they were seated on. One suddenly got up and walked a few feet away quickly looked around, then bent over and scooped up some of the snow. Two watched in wonder as his brother gently patted the snow into a ball. Before he could say anything, One threw it in his direction. Two raised his hands up in front of his face as the snowball hit the back of the bench beside him, sending a spray of snow into the air.  
  
"What was that for?" Two shouted, wiping the snow from his arm and shoulder.  
  
"Nothing." One grabbed another handful of snow and threw it at Two. "Come on. Let's fight." He grinned.  
  
"Ok, you asked for it." Two got up and grabbed a handful of cold wet snow, patted it into a ball and threw it back at One. One phased before it hit him.  
  
"Ha! Missed me!" One grinned after he reappeared.  
  
"Not this time!" Two threw another snowball at One, this time hitting him in the stomach. Like a couple of kids, the Twins ran around the park, throwing snowballs at each other, phasing, and laughing. Two ran behind one of the huge trees and got down on his hands and knees, scooping up as much snow as he could. One phased and quietly appeared behind his brother, who was mumbling something to himself while pressing the snow he was gathering into a huge snowball. One softly crept up behind Two, then quickly pushed Two's trench coattails to the side and stuffed a glob of snow down the back of his pants. Two yelled and jolted forward, facedown in the snow. He got up and turned to One, who was about to burst with laughter at Two's sudden reaction.  
  
"Haha! Looks like I was wrong earlier when I said your brain was frozen. Appears to me your brain isn't the only thing frozen now!"  
  
"One, you are seriously going to die for that!" Two shouted before grabbing up a handful of snow and throwing it into One's face. After getting One to back off, Two phased to recover from his brother's prank.  
  
"You ok now?" One asked, still laughing.  
  
"Yes. It's a good thing we can phase, otherwise you'd be in real trouble right about now."  
  
One smiled innocently.  
  
"I owe you for that, you know."  
  
Both Twins looked at each other in silence for a few minutes. Then, One broke the silence.  
  
"Let's start looking for the Oracle again."  
  
"Yes. Maybe it'll be warm in her apartment!" Two stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat. 


	6. Finding the Joys of Christmas

The Twins walked up to the door of the Oracle's apartment and stopped. They both hesitated a minute before One slowly reached and knocked. Before he could knock more than once, a woman answered the door.  
  
"One, Two, come on in. The Oracle's been expecting you." the woman smiled, while opening the door wider for the Twins to enter. The living room was decorated in beautiful Christmas decorations, much like the ones the Twins had seen in the stores. A small decorated Christmas tree stood in one corner and soft sweet music came from a radio somewhere in the kitchen. The woman pushed past the Twins and walked into the kitchen to announce the Twins' arrival.  
  
"Nice and warm in here." Two snuggled in his silver coat. One gave Two an amused look. "What?"  
  
"Nothing." One said, shaking his head.  
  
Before long, an elderly woman wearing a flowery dress and apron came out to meet them. She had dark hair and a dark skin tone, and wore the most loving smile on her lips.  
  
"Merry Christmas to the both of you." She said, seating herself down on the couch. The Twins exchanged glances, not really knowing what to do, then said a mumbled 'Merry Christmas' back to her.  
  
"Have a seat." The Oracle gestured toward a couple of chairs. The Twins obeyed. "So, how's life in the exile world?"  
  
"Ok, we guess." One softly said.  
  
"Better than being sent back to the Source." Two added.  
  
"You know I don't normally see someone like you."  
  
The Twins lowered their heads.  
  
"And you know how I feel about Exiles and the Merovingian." The Oracle sighed. "But seeing as how you boys want so much to know about Christmas, I couldn't resist helping you." the Oracle smiled sweetly, her eyes sparkling. "So tell me your story."  
  
"Well, I found this book in the Merovingian's library," Two began. "And it had to do with Christmas. I got curious as to what or who Christmas was because I've never heard of it before."  
  
"The Merovingian wouldn't tell him what Christmas was so I went along with him to ask Persephone, but she wouldn't tell us either." Said One.  
  
"Finally I ended up trying to ask Cain, Abel, and Vlad, but they wouldn't tell me either." Two fiddled with his coat sleeve as he spoke.  
  
"That finally resulted in the Merovingian getting mad at the both of us and locking us away in one of the chateau's empty rooms as punishment." One looked at Two.  
  
"But we escaped and came to the city to learn more about Christmas! That's why we're here." Two finished.  
  
"And have you learned anything?" The Oracle asked wonderingly.  
  
"Yes." Both Twins said in unison.  
  
"What, then, have you learned?"  
  
"It's a holiday," Two looked at One.  
  
"And it's celebrated with many beautiful things and decorations and music." One smiled.  
  
The Oracle smiled and chuckled warmly at the Twins' answers.  
  
"What book was it that you found, Two."  
  
Two thought a minute.  
  
"It was something about the night before Christmas, I think." Two said, fingering one of his silver dreadlocks.  
  
"Ah! One of the classic Christmas stories. Very good find, indeed."  
  
The Twins looked at each other.  
  
"It's clear that you boys don't know too much about Christmas. Do you?"  
  
The Twins shook their heads simultaneously.  
  
The Oracle smiled a mischievous smile then got up from the couch and disappeared into another room for a few minutes. When she came back, she held in her hands several books, videos, and other things. The Twins' heads perked with curiosity as they watched her unload her bundle beside her on the couch.  
  
"Now you two listen up because I am going to explain to you what Christmas is." The Oracle smiled.  
  
For about an hour or two the Oracle told the Twins about the joys and many celebrations of Christmas. She told them the many traditions, beliefs, and stories that often followed the most glorious time of the year and how different cultures celebrated it in their own special ways. The Twins asked her questions and she answered them the best way she knew how. The Oracle handed them books that had classic Christmas tales such as 'The Night Before Christmas' and 'A Christmas Carol'. The story of 'A Christmas Carol' seemed to interest the Twins more than any of them. After the conversation, the Oracle showed the Twins several traditional Christmas movies. Surprisingly the Twins watched the movies with great interest and fascination.  
  
It wasn't long until the Twins' time with the Oracle was up. Two's desire to know what Christmas was had been fulfilled, just as he had wanted. Now he was determined to fulfill one more thing, and that was to make the Merovingian love Christmas.  
  
"Thanks for the time." One said to the Oracle as he and Two made their way out into the hall.  
  
"Yes! Thank you very much for telling us all about Christmas." Two added with a smile.  
  
"You're welcome, boys. Now you two stay out of trouble." The Oracle shook her finger at the two.  
  
"We will." Both Twins said together. 


	7. The Orphan

"How are we going to find our car again?" Two asked in bewilderment, after he and One stepped out from the apartment building.  
  
"I think it's this way. We came through the park, right? So it's over there."  
  
"No, it's this way." Two pointed to their right. "The park's this way."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Alright, then, we'll go that way. If we get lost I'll know who to blame." One smirked and pushed his way past Two and started walking.  
  
"What do you mean, you'll know who to blame?" Two ran to catch up with One.  
  
One smiled to himself.  
  
"Aw, come on, Two, I was only joking."  
  
The Twins walked in silence for some time, until something moving down an alley caught Two's eyes. He stopped, pulled out his razor, and stood as still as he could then called to One, who had walked on ahead of him.  
  
"What is it, Two?" One asked, walking up to his brother.  
  
"I thought I saw something in there." Two whispered, pointing down the dark alley.  
  
"I don't see anything." One turned to leave, but Two grabbed his coat sleeve.  
  
"I saw something, I know I did."  
  
"Probably just a cat. There's tons of them living in these old dirty alleys."  
  
"It wasn't a cat, One, it was something bigger."  
  
"A dog then. Come on. I want to get back to the car before it gets dark and starts snowing again. And I want to get back to the chateau before the Merovingian finds out we're gone, if he hasn't already." One pushed Two's hand off of him.  
  
"Do dogs walk on two legs?"  
  
One turned to Two then turned to look down the alley again. He tried to focus his program to where he could see down the dark alley, then caught sight of something behind one of the garbage cans. Two was right; there was something down there. It wasn't a cat or a dog either.  
  
"You're right, Two, there is something down there." One whispered before descending down the dingy alley. Slowly and carefully, One walked through the maze of garbage pails, cans, and boxes that sat along the walls of the two buildings on either side. The light above gave just enough light to see the pathway.  
  
"Ick! This place is disgusting." One cringed at the spilled garbage pail and the stench. Two followed close behind, careful not to step on anything as well. The thick snow on the ground made it difficult to step around the many unsanitary piles of spilled garbage and other stuff because of it covering it up.  
  
"Look! There it is, over there." One pointed to a pile of empty cardboard boxes.  
  
"Can you make out what it is?" Two whispered.  
  
"No. Let me move some of these boxes." One grabbed a box and threw it off; revealing what hid behind it.  
  
"Great Scott! It's a human! A human child!" Two turned to run, but stumbled and fell facedown into the snow, scattering several trashcans. At seeing the Twins, the child, too, screamed and turned to run, but for some reason stopped. One did all he could to hide his amused laugh. He turned and helped Two back on his feet.  
  
"I'm sorry, Two, I need to learn to keep my foot out of the way."  
  
"You tripped me?!" Two leaned against One.  
  
"Yes. I'm sorry." One glanced at Two's razor. "Will you put that thing away before you hurt yourself?"  
  
Two smiled weakly then closed his razor and placed it in an inside pocket of his coat.  
  
"Brrr, it's cold!" Two dusted the snow off of his silver coat and out of his dreadlocked hair before wrapping his coat tighter around him. "I wish we could have stayed at the Oracle's apartment!"  
  
Both fell silent as they turned to the frightened child in front of them. He was huddled behind another pile of boxes and occasionally peeked out at the Twins. He had mussed dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and his clothes were worn and dirty where he had supposedly lived on the streets all or most of his young life.  
  
The Twins looked at each other.  
  
"C'mon. We aren't going to hurt you." One softly whispered to the boy.  
  
"Are you mad?? It's a human!" Two clinched his brother's arm.  
  
"He's not an 'it' he's a 'he', and yes I know he's a human. He looks like he needs help though." One started toward the boy.  
  
"We aren't supposed to help. Let others of his kind help him."  
  
"We live in the Matrix, don't we?" One turned to Two.  
  
"Yes." Two answered.  
  
"Humans live in the Matrix, don't they?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"We're supposed to blend in with humans, aren't we?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Ok, then. We can't let on that we're really exile programs. That means we have to help him." One turned and again started making his way toward the frightened boy.  
  
"Don't touch it! It may have something catching!" Two shouted. One ignored his brother's words.  
  
"It's ok. We aren't going to hurt you. We just want to help." One bent down on one knee and pushed several boxes away. The child jumped up and started to run, but stopped and looked One over. His blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.  
  
"Ar-are you Christmas angels?" the little child asked, timidly. One stared for a minute then turned toward Two, who was now looking over his shoulder.  
  
"What's a Christmas angel?" Two whispered.  
  
"Dunno. You've heard of angels haven't you?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well I guess it's an angel that comes around Christmas." One shrugged.  
  
"No, we ar-," Two's words were cut off by One's fingers suddenly flying up and clinching his mouth closed.  
  
"Don't pay any attention to my wacky brother here. Of course we're Christmas angels." One smiled at the child while continuing to hold Two by the lips. "We just don't like to let it be known."  
  
The young boy smiled and eased his tensed body. Two slapped One's hand to make him let go. One snickered before letting go. Two scowled.  
  
"My name's One and this here is Two."  
  
Two forced a smile.  
  
"I knew you were angels!" The child giggled. "I could tell by your pale skin and silver hair and clothes!"  
  
"What's your name?" One smiled.  
  
"Dapper." The child answered proudly.  
  
"He sure doesn't look it." Two mumbled so only One could hear. One punched Two in the stomach with his elbow to make him shut up.  
  
"What's a kid your age doing out here in the alley?" One asked Dapper.  
  
"I live here." was the child's answer. The Twins blinked.  
  
"You live here?" One repeated.  
  
"Yeah. It's better than the orphanage." The boy looked down at his feet. "At least here I don't have anyone to scream and yell at me for doing things."  
  
"Where's your parents?" Two softly asked.  
  
"Don't have any."  
  
"You're really an orphan?" One asked.  
  
"Yup! I wish I had a family of my own though." Dapper's smile dropped. "It gets lonely on the streets sometimes, especially when all you make is enemies from when you have to steal food."  
  
The Twins remained quiet.  
  
"Around this time of the year I wish extra hard to have a family. Christmas is a special time that is meant to spend with family." Dapper sighed. "I don't have one though."  
  
One motioned with his head for Two to follow him a little ways off from where Dapper stood.  
  
"What?" Two asked.  
  
"Shhh. Listen, we must find Dapper a family."  
  
"What?? Us find him a family?" Two's voice got a little too loud and One gestured for him to lower it.  
  
"Yes, he thinks we're Christmas angels so we've got to help him."  
  
"But we aren't angels." Two whispered.  
  
"We know that, but he doesn't know. That means we've got to help him find his family."  
  
"I dunno. Sounds a little too risky to me."  
  
"Why? What harm could come from us helping a kid find a home?"  
  
Two shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"Come on. Let's do it. It'll be better than going back and facing the Merovingian."  
  
The Twins turned and walked back to Dapper, who was sitting on one of the cardboard boxes.  
  
"Dapper, we're going to help you find a family." One smiled. Dapper jumped down and ran to One, throwing his small arms around the twin.  
  
"Oh thank you! Thank you, One!"  
  
One cringed at the thought of the filthy child hugging him and tried prying Dapper's arms away from him.  
  
"Heh, no hugging angels." One patted Dapper's head.  
  
Dapper frowned.  
  
"We angels don't like being touched." Two smiled.  
  
"Well, let's get going." One cleared his throat.  
  
Together, the Twins and the young orphan named Dapper walked out of the dark alley and onto the sidewalk again and started off to find Dapper a home and family. 


	8. Finding Dapper a Home

"It's cold out here!" Two whined. One rolled his eyes and sighed.  
  
"For the last time, will you shut up?!" One turned to Two. "Of all the brothers in the Matr, uh, I mean world, I had to end up with you. I wonder how that ever came to be?"  
  
"Just fortunate, I guess." Two grinned.  
  
"Fortunate is not the word I'd use to describe the matter." One glared at Two. Two's head lowered. "Look, I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I'm glad you're my brother."  
  
"You mean it?" Two lifted his head again.  
  
"Yeah, I mean it." One placed his arm around Two's shoulders. All the time the Twins had been talking, Dapper was quietly watching the two curious beings before him.  
  
"Are you sure you're angels?" Dapper's face turned thoughtful.  
  
"Sure we are." One smiled.  
  
"You sure don't act like it. Where are your wings?"  
  
"Uh, we don't like showing them." One answered quickly.  
  
"Because people would probably get scared if they saw us." Two added.  
  
"Yeah, so when we're on earth we kinda make them turn invisible." One grinned. "We like to stay under cover so as not to attract attention."  
  
Dapper only stared. The Twins started to feel a little uneasy at the child's presence. They knew he was starting to believe that they weren't angels and could see past their lying.  
  
"So how are we going to go about finding this kid a home anyway?" Two asked, changing the subject before Dapper could ask more questions.  
  
"Easy! You just knock on a door and ask if they want to adopt a kid. Then you dump him at the first one that even hints that they are interested."  
  
"Excuse me." Said Dapper.  
  
The Twins turned.  
  
"I think I should have a little bit of a say so in the matter." Dapper's eyes filled with tears. "I don't want to be dumped at just any old house we come to."  
  
"Don't worry, kid, we won't do it that way if that's the way you feel about it." One comforted.  
  
"I thought you two were angels, but I don't think you are."  
  
"We are." Two answered nervously.  
  
"We're just having a bad day." One sighed.  
  
"Hey, look over there. There's a nice looking house." Two suddenly said to change the subject again. "One, let me have the kid."  
  
One pulled Dapper by the arm and placed his small hand in Two's hand. Two pulled Dapper along behind him up to the nice looking house and knocked on the door, before One could say or do anything to stop him. A few seconds passed before a woman came to answer the door. Her eyes grew wide when first seeing Two, then after she forced a smile.  
  
"May I help you?" she asked.  
  
"We're trying to find a nice home for this little chap. Would you be interested in adopting him? He won't give you any trouble at all, and he's really nice. Best of all, you may adopt him for free." Two grinned. The woman looked down at the dirty little boy and smiled.  
  
"I'm sorry but we already have five children."  
  
The woman closed the door in Two's face.  
  
"Whoa, five children? And I thought we had problems." Two whispered to himself. One quickly came up behind his brother and took Dapper's hand.  
  
"You're doing it all wrong. What are you anyway? A child salesman? He's a child, not a vacuum cleaner. Why didn't you just tell the woman he's guaranteed for ten years?"  
  
"But you said for us to do this."  
  
"I didn't mean for you to put it in that choice of words." One sighed. "Come on, let's try the next house. This time I'm going to do it."  
  
Two's lip quivered as he walked quietly along beside One and Dapper.  
  
"You aren't going to start crying are you?" One groaned after noticing Two's face. Two looked up.  
  
"I do my best and all you can do is scold me." Two whimpered. One sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Two. I yelled at you when I shouldn't have. I'll take care of the next house and you watch me. If this one isn't successful, I'll let you try the next one."  
  
Two smiled.  
  
The Twins and Dapper walked through the snow-covered lawn and up to the front door. After shaking the snow from their white boots, the Twins knocked.  
  
"Should be someone here that'd like a kid. Their yard is covered in Christmas lights and decorations."  
  
The door opened to reveal another woman, this time not having a friendly face.  
  
"Good evening. We were walking down town a few minutes ago and found this boy running around lost. We thought he might belong to you." One said, trying to keep Dapper still. "He says he can't remember where he lives and,"  
  
"I'm sorry, but he doesn't belong here." The woman interrupted.  
  
"Would you like to adopt him then?"  
  
"No! Good day!"  
  
The woman slammed the door. The Twins and Dapper stood a moment before turning to leave.  
  
"What are we gonna do?" Two lowered his head.  
  
"Maybe we're both going about this the wrong way."  
  
"I say you are." Dapper sighed. "No one's going to adopt me if you go door to door like you're doing. We're going to end up being known as the public nuisance if you go to one more house."  
  
Dapper had a point. The Twins decided to take a rest while they thought about what to do next. One, however, found it difficult to do any thinking whatsoever with Two constantly complaining about it being cold.  
  
"Whatever you do, I don't want to go back to the orphanage." Dapper pouted. "There's this mean old mistress there who hates kids. She's the reason why I left and decided to live on the streets. Every so often she'll drive up and down the roads looking for me. I always hide in the alleys though, because she can't see me down there."  
  
The Twins listened to Dapper's story with interest. At least it was one way of passing the time. When Dapper finished, the Twins looked at each other.  
  
"We'll have to be sure to look out for her then." Two breathed.  
  
"Don't look now, but she's coming down the road right now!" Dapper's face went pale as he pointed to a black car heading in their direction. The Twins jumped to their feet and took off running, dragging poor little Dapper along with them. 


	9. Outwitting the Enemy

"Please, whatever you do, don't let her catch me and take me back!" Dapper shouted while the Twins continued to run.  
  
"Don't worry, kid, you're safe with us." Two shouted back. "One, we need to get to the Escalade! Do you remember where we parked it?"  
  
"Yes! Follow me." One shouted before turning a corner.  
  
The Twins ran down alleys and roads, dodging cars and other obstacles as they went, to make their trail tough for the woman to follow them. Even though the path they made was hard to remember, several times they had to stop and hide in a nearby alley until the mistress Dapper was so afraid of went past them. Somehow she had managed to follow them, despite their efforts to lose her. One time of hiding quietly in a dark alley, the Twins grabbed a look at her as she went by in her black car. Dapper was right, she looked evil. Two shivered at the thought of meeting up with her face to face. Next to her, the Merovingian seemed harmless even if he was in a bad mood.  
  
When the Twins were finally within a few feet of their car, the mistress somehow found out where they were and had parked her car in front of the Twins' car.  
  
"How did she follow us?" Two gasped. "We took the craziest rout possible in order to lose her!"  
  
"She's like that. I don't know how she does it, but she does." Said Dapper.  
  
"Now what do we do?" One turned to Two and Dapper. "We've got to make it to our car somehow."  
  
"If we go out there she's sure to catch us and take Dapper away." Two clutched the boy's arm tighter.  
  
One thought a minute.  
  
"If I phase she won't be able to see me. I could go underground and come up inside the Escalade without her even knowing it." One thought aloud.  
  
"Sounds like it would work." Two quietly said. "But what about the other people?"  
  
"If I do it fast maybe no one will notice."  
  
"What about us then?"  
  
"Once I reappear, I'll drive the car over here where you and Dapper can jump in."  
  
"What are you guys talking about?" Dapper cut in.  
  
"Nothing, kid. Don't worry, we'll get you out of here."  
  
One suddenly phased into a translucent greenish ghost that had a grotesque figure and hovered a few minutes before sinking down into the snow-covered blacktop. Dapper's eyes grew wide at the sudden horrifying sight and nervously backed up against Two. He quickly turned around and looked Two over.  
  
"What are you?" Dapper whispered. Two only stared at the boy. "I knew it. You two aren't angels at all."  
  
Two grabbed onto Dapper's arm and pulled him back when the boy turned to run.  
  
"Dapper, wait! You're right, we aren't Christmas angels." Two sighed. "It's time you knew the truth."  
  
"Truth about what?"  
  
"The truth about us not being angels and being ghosts."  
  
"Ghosts?!" Dapper's voice went hoarse then he turned to run again. Two tightened his grip on the child's arm.  
  
"Wait, wait. We aren't going to hurt you."  
  
"How do I know you aren't lying?" Dapper frowned. "You lied about being angels, so how do I know you aren't lying about not hurting me?"  
  
Two lowered his head.  
  
"We're sorry we lied to you, Dapper." Two said in a low tone. "We only wanted to help. If we had told you what we really are you might have ran from us."  
  
Dapper sighed and jerked his arm away from Two's hand.  
  
"What am I? Scrooge? Are you two ghosts of Christmas past and future?"  
  
Two lowered his head more and said nothing while he picked up a piece of his coat and fingered it.  
  
"We're sorry." Two finally whispered.  
  
"I bet you are."  
  
Two cowered and nudged a lump of snow with the tip of his boot.  
  
"I don't know whether to trust you two or not. You might end up handing me over to the orphanage."  
  
Both Two and Dapper silently watched as One came up from the ground and into the car before materializing to his normal self. He fired up the Escalade's engine and pulled out of the parking space and towards the alley where Two and Dapper waited.  
  
"Jump in, quick!" One shouted. Two grabbed Dapper and ran to his side of the car and threw the boy inside before climbing up into it himself. Before Two had a chance to close the door, One floored the Escalade and took off.  
  
"What are you doing?" Dapper shouted while trying not to tumble around in the backseat. "We're in the city. The police will catch us if you go this fast! And they'll give me over to the authorities if they see me."  
  
"Quiet, kid, we know what we're doing." One turned a sharp corner. "Is the orphanage woman following us?"  
  
Two turned around in his seat to look out of the back windshield.  
  
"Yes, she is."  
  
"Grab your gun, Two."  
  
Two's eyes lit up with excitement as he reached under the seat and dragged out his machine gun.  
  
"What are you gonna do?! You aren't gonna shoot at her, are you?" Dapper's small voice began to squeak. The Twins said nothing. Two clumsily opened up the sunroof above him and stood up the best he could in the seat.  
  
"You can't do that!" Dapper jumped and grabbed Two's leg. "As much as I dislike her, we can't kill her!"  
  
Two struggled to keep his balance as Dapper continued to hold onto his pants leg.  
  
"Two," One jerked his brother's coat. "Dapper's right. Come on down. We can't shoot at that woman."  
  
Two came down in a hurry and stared in puzzlement at his brother for a few minutes.  
  
"B-but," Two stammered.  
  
"Just relax, I have an idea."  
  
Two continued to look bewildered.  
  
"'Tis the season to be jolly, remember?" One glanced at Two.  
  
"This is my way of being jolly!" Two held up his gun.  
  
"Put it back under your seat."  
  
Two sighed and did what he was told before settling back and crossing his arms in disgust.  
  
The Twins and Dapper sat in silence as One continued to drive, leading the mistress out of the city limits and into the country. Suddenly One stopped and jumped out of the car.  
  
"Come on!" One motioned. Two and Dapper jumped out of the car too and followed One down into a snow trench not far from where they had parked the Escalade.  
  
"Gather up all the snow you can." One grinned. "When she steps out of her car, we'll let her have it!"  
  
Two started to grin too while he helped Dapper prepare snowballs. One gathered a huge mound of snow and set it off to the side then went on to make snowballs too. The Twins and Dapper rolled and piled snowballs up in several places around them, making them easy to get at when needed. After awhile, everyone stopped and waited.  
  
"Where is she?" Dapper asked.  
  
"She can't be too far away. She stayed behind us for most of the ride, so she couldn't have gotten lost."  
  
"I wish she'd come soon because I'm,"  
  
"I know, I know. Don't tell me." One looked across at Two. Two breathed into his hands then stuffed them down in the pockets of his coat.  
  
"Want me to build a fire?" One playfully laughed.  
  
It wasn't long before the roar of a car approached. Everyone stopped talking while One carefully peeked over the side of the snow trench.  
  
"It's her! She's here!" One ducked down out of sight.  
  
"What are your plans for all of this?" Two pointed at all the piles of snowballs.  
  
"We wait a few minutes until she gets out of the car. Then we pound her with them until she retreats."  
  
"Wonder if she won't?"  
  
"Then you can get the gun." One smiled. Two smiled back.  
  
A tall thin elderly woman wearing a dark wine colored dress stepped out of the black car. She had a long wrinkled face that reminded the Twins of an old hound dog, and gray hair that was tied up in a bun at the back of her head. On her face she wore thick glasses that made her look all the more menacing.  
  
"Where on earth did she get glasses like that?" Two whispered with an amused laugh.  
  
"I dunno, but if she ever lost them all she'd have to do to get a new pair is break a couple of coke bottles and tie them together with a clothes hanger." One snickered a little louder.  
  
The woman turned toward the trench at the sound of One's laughter.  
  
"Uh oh." One backed up.  
  
"Now you've done it." Two reached for a snowball.  
  
"Let her have it, men!" One shouted while reaching for some ammunition.  
  
Dapper and the Twins started throwing snowballs as fast as they could grab them. The woman shrieked and flung her arms up to shield her face. Snowball after snowball the woman stood her ground until her foot hit a patch of ice, sending her down into the trench where Dapper and the Twins were.  
  
"Enemy in the camp! Retreat!" Two shouted while trying to scurry up the slick slope. One grabbed Two's coat and pulled him back down.  
  
"So!" the woman angrily said, after getting up and looking around her. "I thought I was being pounded by a gang of children, but instead I find two grown men acting like childish delinquents."  
  
"Now see here, lady." One started to protest.  
  
"Silence!"  
  
Two slunk away behind One after seeing the woman's temper flare. He knew better than to argue with someone with a bad temper. He'd lived with the Merovingian's temper too long not to know.  
  
"Feisty little woman, isn't she?" One whispered to Two.  
  
"I think you two have something that belongs to me." The old woman pointed her finger at the two twins.  
  
"Oh? And what might that be?" One raised his eyebrows a little.  
  
"You know good and well what it is. Now I'll not stand for anymore back talk."  
  
"Hey! Come and get me!" Dapper shouted from behind a tree. The woman turned and started running the best she could towards Dapper. The little boy grinned and took off running too, with the woman in close pursuit. The Twins phased and sunk down into the snow-covered earth and traveled as fast as they could underground. Two was the first to appear in front of the woman and Dapper. Not looking at where he was going and as a result of the confusion started by the sudden appearing of Two, Dapper bumped into the twin, sending both of them flying onto the slick snowy ground. Dapper screamed as he and Two started sliding down a steep hillside that was inches away from where they had fallen.  
  
"Help me!" Dapper shouted.  
  
"What do you mean, help you?! Help me! I can't stop rolling!" Two grunted as he tumbled and rolled with Dapper clasped close to his chest. Both came to an abrupt stop when they hit a small hard frozen pond below and slid slowly the rest of the way. When he finally came to a complete stop, Two lay on his back in the middle of the frozen pond and breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"That was fun! Let's do it again!" Dapper giggled, as he rolled off of Two's stomach.  
  
"Alright, you can do it again." Two started to get up. "But this time you can do it without the twin toboggan!" Two struggled to stand on the slick ice and slowly made his way to the pond's bank, Dapper close behind him. Once they reached the snow again, One appeared in front of them.  
  
"I was wondering what happened to you two." One grinned and laughed. Before Two could say anything, the evil mistress Dapper feared walked up to them. Two glanced around for Dapper, but the young child was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"If you two are through playing games, I'd like to have the child that belongs to me."  
  
"He isn't your child." Two glared. "He's an orphan that belongs to no one."  
  
"An orphan who's looking for a family." One added.  
  
"He was left in my care so he belongs to me until he finds a family." the woman snapped.  
  
"It was because of you that he ran away in the first place!" Two took a step toward the woman, getting ready to reach for his razor.  
  
Before the Twins or the woman could do anything, a wild snowball hit the woman from behind, giving the Twins a chance to grab her.  
  
"Thanks, Dapper!" One shouted, struggling with the woman. "Get the rope out of the car." One nudged Two.  
  
Two went and came back in a matter of minutes with a thick long rope that One took and tied around the woman's hands and feet.  
  
"We gonna leave her out here?" Two gagged the woman's mouth with a cloth.  
  
"Why not? She won't give us any trouble out here." One grunted while tying the ropes extra tight. "Take Dapper and get in the car. We're getting out of here."  
  
Two did as One told him and before long, One joined them.  
  
"Good bye, ducky! If you follow us now, you're more mysterious than we took you for!" One shouted out the window in the direction they had left the woman tied up, before breaking into an evil laughter. 


	10. Dapper Gets a Family

The next morning, One was awakened by Two nudging his arm.  
  
"One?" Two whispered.  
  
"Hummm? You look great tonight, my dear." One mumbled in his sleep. "I'm going to enjoy going out with you tonight."  
  
Two's eyebrows raised.  
  
"So beautiful, so majestic, that color fits you well." One's voice slowly drifted off into mumbles. Two eyed his brother with curious eyes.  
  
"One, wake up you're dreaming." Two nudged One again. One drowsily opened his eyes and turned his head toward Two.  
  
"What do you want?" One yawned, phasing a few minutes to wake himself up and to get the cricks and aches out from where he'd slept sitting up in the driver's seat of the Escalade.  
  
"That did it. Had such an awful rick in my neck there, but the phasing took care of it." One smiled, rubbing his hand down the back of his neck.  
  
"One!" Two sternly said, trying to get his brother's attention.  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's 8 o' clock."  
  
"So?"  
  
"AM."  
  
One nearly jumped out of his seat and hit his head on the roof of the car at Two's last words.  
  
"What did you just say?!"  
  
"It's eight in the morning!"  
  
"Can't be!" One's eyes grew big behind his shades.  
  
"Says so right here." Two showed One his silver pocket watch, before putting it back into the pocket of his waistcoat.  
  
"I can't believe it. We slept clear into the next day." One stared blankly at the dashboard. "Do you know what this means?"  
  
"It means I'm cold. Turn on the motor so we can get it warmed up in here. I can't believe we slept in here all night without any heat!"  
  
"No! It means we're dead." One grabbed onto Two's hand before it touched the keys.  
  
"It will mean that in a few minutes if you don't get some heat going in here because I'm gonna freeze to death. Now let go of my arm."  
  
"Don't you get it? The Merovingian locked us in that room for the remainder of yesterday. Now it's the day after. He's probably already gone to the room to let us out, and he didn't find us there."  
  
If it was possible, Two turned a little paler than usual.  
  
"So what are we going to do?" Two whispered.  
  
One turned and looked in the backseat where Dapper was still asleep.  
  
"First we've got to find Dapper a home." One sighed. "Then we go back to the chateau and face the Merovingian." One reached for the keys and started the Escalade.  
  
"Can't we go someplace safer like Europe?" Two grinned.  
  
"No. We've got to go back to the chateau. You said you wanted to try and change the Mero's mind about Christmas. We can't let you pass that up."  
  
Two thought a few minutes before he changed the subject.  
  
"So how was she?" Two smiled.  
  
"How was who?" One looked at Two, puzzled.  
  
"You know, the woman in your dream." Two laughed a little. "Was she pretty?"  
  
"What woman? There wasn't any woman in my dream. It was a shiny new Cadillac." One sighed and smiled. "Was it ever gorgeous."  
  
Two looked at his brother in a funny way before his lips curled into a mischievous smile.  
  
After about an hour, the Twins pulled the Escalade into a parking spot beside a sidewalk in the main part of town and stopped. Neither of them had a clue as to what they'd do next, so they sat there a few minutes and watched the people pass by them.  
  
"So where do we begin finding Dapper a home?" Two finally said.  
  
"Beats me, but we've got to do it." One sighed.  
  
"Are you sure you want to go through with this? I mean, we can always dump the kid back out on the streets as if we never even found him."  
  
One turned to his twin.  
  
"That is the most heartless thing I've ever heard."  
  
Two lowered his head.  
  
"I'm sorry, One. It's just that," Two sighed and looked in the backseat at the sleeping boy.  
  
"What?"  
  
"He's a human. I just can't see ourselves actually helping a human."  
  
"Is that what's bothering you?" One shook his head.  
  
"Yes, that's what's bothering me. It should bother you too." Two's voice began sounding unnatural.  
  
"We're exiled assassins, programmed to destroy and cause havoc and kill, and here we are running around the city trying to find one small human child a home!"  
  
Two quickly shut his mouth when he felt One's hand sharply go across his face. Two sat and stared at One while rubbing his stinging cheek.  
  
"What was that for?" Two whimpered, on the verge of crying.  
  
"To knock some sense back into you." One glared. "If you can remember, you are the one to blame for all of this."  
  
"Me?!"  
  
"Who was the one who wanted to find out what Christmas is? Who was the one who got us punished? Who was the one who had the bright idea of breaking out of the chateau and coming to the city?"  
  
Two leaned back in his seat in silence as One continued on.  
  
"And who was the one who had to stop because he saw something down a dark alley?"  
  
"I get your point." Two mumbled. "I'm sorry."  
  
The Twins sighed to themselves simultaneously then sat in silence until their attention was drawn to the back of the car where Dapper finally woke up.  
  
"I'm hungry." The small boy said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The Twins looked at each other.  
  
"Oh great. Humans have to eat don't they?" Two whispered. One nodded. Since the Twins, being programs, didn't have to eat unless they wanted or had to, they hadn't thought about food.  
  
"Over there looks like a place to buy food." One pointed to a small café a few stores down from where they were parked.  
  
"Let's go." Two opened up the Escalade's door and climbed out. Before he could shut it, Dapper appeared in front of him, stretching his small arms out to be helped down. Two hesitated a moment, deciding on whether or not to help the human or not. When he was about to decide against it, One's glare at him changed his mind. Two sighed, reached out and helped the small boy down to the sidewalk before slamming the door. When Dapper wasn't looking, Two wiped his hands down the side of his coat to get off anything Dapper might have. He was about to phase to clean himself good, but One's elbow nudge in his side told him not to.  
  
"You stay out here." One told Dapper as he and Two walked into the café. The smells of the small eatery hit the Twins the moment they walked into the place, making them rather sick to their stomachs. What food they had ever eaten in their lifetime had always been French and gourmet food at the Merovingian's restaurant. Smelling the strong odors of the snack and 'junk' food in this place was nothing they had ever smelt before. Two wrinkled his nose and turned to look at One. One shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to walk toward the counter.  
  
"Give us the best and cheapest thing you have." One told the waitress behind the counter.  
  
"Sure thing." The girl grinned before walking off.  
  
As the Twins waited, they couldn't help but overhear a young couple's conversation just a few seats behind them in the small café. By the way the couple talked, the Twins could guess that they had a rough year of work and had just enough money to get by on. The wife appeared to only want one thing for Christmas.  
  
"But I'd like to have a child for Christmas, John. Couldn't we take out a loan and adopt a child then pay it back?" said a woman's voice.  
  
"No! We've got enough debts to pay off now as it is." A man's voice answered. "Believe me, I'd love to have a child running around our house for Christmas too, but we just can't afford to adopt right now, honey."  
  
The Twins slowly exchanged glances with each other then continued to listen.  
  
"My business hasn't been good this year, and what money we do have goes for food and clothing and other necessities we need." The man sighed. "Besides, a child would mean another mouth to feed."  
  
"If we did decide to adopt one somehow, could we afford to care for it?" the woman asked with interest.  
  
"I suppose so." The man shrugged. "It may turn out to be tight, but I suppose we could somehow manage it."  
  
The Twins looked at each other and smiled before turning to look out the front window where Dapper was standing, waiting for them outside.  
  
"Couldn't we give Dapper to them?" Two whispered to One. "They wouldn't have to pay for him."  
  
"Dapper's been looking for a family, and this family is looking for a child." One mumbled under his breath. "Two, I'm going to go get Dapper. You stay here and keep an eye on that couple. If they start to leave before I get back, stall them."  
  
Before Two could say anything, One was already out the front door. Two turned to watch that the young couple across from him were going to stay there. Within a few minutes, One came back in with Dapper at his side.  
  
"Have they moved?" One asked, approaching Two. Two shook his head. "I've explained everything to Dapper and he's willing to give it a go."  
  
The Twins slowly turned and walked toward the couple and stopped in front of the booth they were seated at. The man and woman looked up at the unusual creatures standing before them.  
  
"May I help you?" the man stuttered a little as he spoke.  
  
"We couldn't help but overhear your conversation just a few minutes ago." Said One.  
  
The man and woman exchanged glances.  
  
"We don't know how to put this into words, but we'd appreciate it if you'd adopt this little chap." Two pulled Dapper up beside the table. "We heard you were wanting a child for Christmas."  
  
The couple stood and stared at Dapper for some time, with Dapper doing the same to them.  
  
"B-but we can't afford to adopt a child." The man protested.  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it. We aren't asking anything for him." One smiled.  
  
"You can have him for nothing." Two smiled.  
  
Dapper smiled sweetly at the two people seated around the booth. The woman smiled back and grabbed onto Dapper and hugged him.  
  
"W-we don't know what to say." The woman said through her tears.  
  
"You don't have to say anything." One said, softly.  
  
"Thank you." the woman whispered. "You've made our Christmas special."  
  
"These are my friends. This here's One and that's Two." Dapper suddenly said, introducing the Twins to his new parents. One walked up to the father's side of the table and looked into his face.  
  
"You take good care of that kid. Ok?" he softly said. The man nodded and smiled.  
  
One turned to Two.  
  
"I think it's time we were leaving."  
  
Two bent down and grabbed Dapper in his arms.  
  
"Good by, Dapper."  
  
"G' bye, Two. I'm gonna miss ya." Dapper wrapped his small arms around Two's neck and hugged the twin tightly. After Two got up, One bent down.  
  
"You take care of yourself, kid." One ruffled Dapper's hair. The child giggled and threw his arms around One's neck.  
  
"Merry Christmas, One." Dapper whispered in One's ear.  
  
"Merry Christmas to you too."  
  
One pulled back and smiled at the boy.  
  
"Merry Christmas to you, Two!" Dapper smiled at Two.  
  
The Twins turned and started walking toward the front door, the couple and Dapper shouting 'Merry Christmas' as they went. One pushed the café's door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, Two close behind him.  
  
"You know, we're gonna miss that kid." Two whispered.  
  
"Yeah, we are." One whispered back.  
  
"Cute kid, actually." Two laughed.  
  
"C'mon, let's get back to where we belong." One said, turning.  
  
The Twins slowly walked back to their car and got in.  
  
"Wait! Let's stop by the Oracle's place one more time." Two blurted out.  
  
"What for?"  
  
"Just do it. I have an idea how we can change the Merovingian's mind about Christmas."  
  
One shook his head and drove off toward the Oracle's apartment. 


	11. The Plan

"I honestly would like to know what's going through your head right about now." One said, parking the car and turning off the engine. Two said nothing as he jumped out of the black Escalade and made his way up the stairs and into the apartment building.  
  
When One finally caught up with his brother, he was standing outside of the Oracle's apartment waiting for the door to open.  
  
"Come on open!" Two mumbled impatiently. The door slowly and finally opened, revealing this time a man instead of a woman. His hair was very short, and he wore a white coat, black pants, and dainty round lens sunglasses. Before the man had a chance to say anything, Two pushed him aside and rushed in.  
  
"What's the meaning of this?" the man asked angrily.  
  
"We need to see the Oracle." Two looked around the small living room.  
  
"You can't see her now."  
  
"We must! Now go get her." Two snapped. Losing his patience, Two started towards the kitchen. Before he could go far, the man in the white coat grabbed onto Two's arm and flung him up against one of the walls, nearly knocking the breath out of him. Two growled and tried to fight back, but the man's grip was tight.  
  
"What's going on in here, Seraph?" another voice suddenly broke in. The Twins and Seraph turned toward the doorway of the kitchen where the Oracle was standing with a dishrag in one hand.  
  
"It's ok, Seraph, you can let him go now." The Oracle nodded. Seraph slowly let go of Two and stepped back a little ways, not daring to take his eyes off of the Twins.  
  
"One, Two, what are you boys doing back?" The Oracle couldn't help but smile.  
  
"Shouldn't you know that already?" Two leaned his head to one side. The Oracle chuckled warmly and motioned for the Twins to follow her into the kitchen.  
  
"What do you boys think?" The Oracle mysteriously asked as she made her way over to the kitchen sink and began drying dishes.  
  
"Think about what?" One looked at Two.  
  
"About me already knowing why you two are back."  
  
"We think you do."  
  
"I would ask you to have a seat, but I already know you won't." The Oracle turned a smiling face to the Twins.  
  
"So why are we here?" One asked.  
  
"Don't say that! I'll go ahead and tell her why we're here." Two nudged One.  
  
The Oracle chuckled a little at the Twins' behavior.  
  
"We're here because I want to change the Merovingian's mind about Christmas." Two began. "I have a plan to do it, but I need your help."  
  
"What kind of plan do you have in mind?" One asked.  
  
"We're going to decorate the chateau for Christmas." Two smiled excitedly.  
  
"Are you kidding?!" One's mouth dropped. "The Mero will hit the roof when he finds out! Not to mention sending us back to the Source afterwards!"  
  
"You don't like my idea?" Two's smiled lowered.  
  
"It's horrible! You know how the Mero reacted yesterday about Christmas. That's the reason we ended up in this whole mess."  
  
"Boys!" The Oracle interrupted. "I think Two's idea is wonderful. In fact I already know it's going to work." The woman put down her rag and started walking into the next room. "That's why I've already prepared everything Two will need for it."  
  
Two smiled at One and followed the Oracle.  
  
"Here you go, kiddo." The Oracle picked up one of the boxes stacked in a corner and handed it to Two. Two opened it to find lights, tinsel, and other decorations.  
  
"This is perfect." He breathed while thumbing through the wad of stuff.  
  
"The rest of the boxes here are yours as well. They're filled with lots of stuff that you could probably use."  
  
"Are there ornaments to decorate a tree with?"  
  
"Yes, right here." the Oracle carefully picked up another box and handed it to Two.  
  
"This is great!" Two grinned. "One, help me load them into the car."  
  
One sighed to himself then picked up one of the boxes, while the Oracle sifted through the huge pile of boxes and sorted them out for the Twins.  
  
After returning from placing several boxes in the car, the Twins and the Oracle started going through some of the decorations.  
  
"Here's a beautiful centerpiece you could use to set on a table or something." The Oracle fluffed out some of the centerpiece's limbs and poinsettias. One came up to look it over.  
  
"How many of these do you have?" One asked.  
  
"Hmm, let's see here." The Oracle bent over to look around in the boxes, One going off looking through another box that was across the room.  
  
"Two!" the Oracle shouted the number of centerpieces to One, after she had found another one.  
  
"Yes?" Two said, coming into the room. The Oracle and One looked up.  
  
"What?" One asked.  
  
"You called me didn't you?" Two placed a string of Christmas lights down on the couch.  
  
"No." One chuckled. "The Oracle was just telling me how many of these we have." One held up the flowered centerpiece for Two to see. Two blushed a little, then started to smile.  
  
"Here, take a few of these boxes out to the car." One pointed at a small pile of cardboard boxes. Two nodded and picked up as many as he could carry. "There's a good chap." One called after Two. One turned to the Oracle and smiled before throwing down the centerpiece he held. He picked up several boxes and started toward the front door.  
  
"I'm gonna go take these out. I'll be right back." One called to the Oracle. One walked out into the hallway and hurried toward the elevator.  
  
When he got to the outside, Two was busily trying to pack the back of the Escalade, stuffing boxes here and there and trying to make every last one fit into an unused area.  
  
"Are you sure this is gonna work?" One asked, as he placed the boxes he had carried, onto the sidewalk.  
  
"I hope so." Two grunted, while struggling with a box.  
  
"You know the Merovingian is going to skin us alive when he finds out about all of this."  
  
"Maybe he won't." Two lifted another box.  
  
"How are we going to pull this off with just the two of us?"  
  
"We're going to get help from some of the others in the chateau."  
  
"Like who?"  
  
"Vlad, Cain, Abel, Cujo, Persephone." Two placed the last of the boxes in the car and closed the doors. "There I think that's all of it."  
  
"You honestly think the ones you just named are going to help us decorate the chateau for Christmas?" One shook his head. "You're daft!"  
  
Two looked at One.  
  
"I'm not daft!" Two replied.  
  
"Vlad is not going to help us. I can already tell you that."  
  
"Cujo?"  
  
"That old werewolf isn't going to help either, and neither are Cain and Abel. You asked them before we left to tell you what Christmas is and they wouldn't tell you. Now you think they're going to help us with decorating for Christmas?"  
  
Two thought a minute.  
  
"Maybe they'll have a change of heart." He smiled. "Now let's go inside and gather up the remaining boxes." 


	12. The Twins Return

The Twins pulled the Escalade up into its usual parking space in the chateau's garage and turned the motor off.  
  
"How are we ever going to get all of those boxes into the chateau without the Mero seeing us?" One sighed at last.  
  
"I dunno." Two looked in the backseat at the boxes of Christmas decorations. "We've got to get them in somehow."  
  
"Where are we going to put them at once we do get them in?"  
  
Two thought a minute.  
  
"We can leave them here in the car until the Mero goes to bed tonight. Right now we can gather people up to help us with the decorating."  
  
"I still say no one's going to help us." One crossed his arms.  
  
"We won't know unless we try." Two smiled. "C'mon." Two playfully punched One's arm then opened up the Escalade's door.  
  
"We'll probably be fortunate if the Mero doesn't send us back to the Source after all of this."  
  
"Hey, we've just got to play it cool. If we do it just right, I think the Mero will have a change of heart." Two jumped out onto the garage's pavement.  
  
"That'll be the day." One breathed.  
  
Inside the chateau, the Twins walked through the cold hallway leading to the garage, until they entered the Great Hall. Here they looked around at the still and quiet atmosphere that lay before them.  
  
"Where is everyone?" Two whispered.  
  
"No idea, but I suggest us getting back to that room the Mero placed us in." One tugged on Two's coat sleeve.  
  
"No wait. Someone's coming."  
  
"I dunno if I want to know who it is." One shuddered.  
  
The door opened and in walked Persephone. She stopped and almost screamed when she saw the Twins standing before her.  
  
"Where have you two been? The Merovingian has been searching the chateau over from attic to dungeon trying to find you since yesterday." Persephone approached the two twins.  
  
"Um, we've been out." Two grinned nervously.  
  
"The Mero's not too happy with you."  
  
"You won't tell him we're back, will you?" One lowered his voice.  
  
"At least not until after tonight?" Two added.  
  
"I suppose not, but why all the secrecy?"  
  
"We're going to decorate the chateau for Christmas!" Two smiled.  
  
"You're going to what?!" Persephone raised her voice. The Twins looked nervously around for any signs of the Merovingian.  
  
"Shhh." Two shushed.  
  
"Are you two out of your minds?!" Perse whispered.  
  
"No!" One frowned.  
  
"We learned all about Christmas in the city so we came back with plans to celebrate it with you and the Mero."  
  
"But the Merovingian has forbidden Christmas in the chateau."  
  
"Why?" both Twins asked in unison.  
  
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me."  
  
"Is that why you told Two you couldn't help him when he asked you about Christmas?"  
  
Perse nodded her head in silence.  
  
"I didn't want you two getting in trouble over something silly."  
  
"Christmas isn't silly." Two said under his breath. "It's a beautiful holiday."  
  
"Will you help us decorate the chateau?" One whispered.  
  
Perse's eyes grew big.  
  
"You want me to help you decorate for Christmas?!"  
  
"We're going to ask some of the others to help too." said One. "And it's all got to be done tonight after the Merovingian has gone to bed."  
  
"Because tomorrow's Christmas day!" Two added.  
  
"The Mero will have a fit when he wakes up tomorrow." Perse shook her head. "Besides, how will we decorate without waking the Mero up?"  
  
"We'll just have to work quietly." Two mumbled.  
  
"I know I shouldn't do this," Perse sighed. "But I'll help."  
  
The Twins smiled.  
  
"Thanks, Perse." Two grinned. "Now we've got to go find Cain, Abel, Vlad, and Cujo."  
  
"What?" Perse turned back around to face the Twins. "You're getting them to help us?"  
  
"Sure! Why not?"  
  
"They'll never agree to this."  
  
With enough said, the Twins and Persephone parted ways. The Twins cautiously roamed the chateau in search of the people they needed while trying to avoid any contact with the Merovingian. Entering one of the rooms, the Twins found Cain and Abel watching a vampire movie. Both of them approached the werewolves.  
  
"Um, excuse us. Mind if we interrupt you for a sec?" Two nervously said. Cain and Abel looked at the Twins and frowned. With an agitated growl, Abel punched the pause button on the VCR's remote.  
  
"What is it?" Cain sighed.  
  
"We need your help with something." Said Two.  
  
"We need you to help us decorate the chateau for Christmas." One said, getting to the point faster.  
  
Cain and Abel looked at each other, puzzled, then looked back at the Twins.  
  
"The Master won't like it." Abel said.  
  
"Who cares?" Two huffed. "We're going to do it anyway whether if the Master likes it or not."  
  
"Persephone's going to help us." One smiled.  
  
"She is?" Cain pondered. Both werewolves looked at each other once more, shrugged their shoulders, and turned back to the Twins.  
  
"Ok. If Persephone's going to help you, then I guess we will too."  
  
"Good!" Two smiled. "Meet us tonight in the Great Hall, after the Master has gone to bed."  
  
The Twins got up and left, leaving Cain and Abel to watch their movie in peace.  
  
"That was easier than I thought it'd be." Two breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"The worst isn't over yet. We still have Cujo and Vlad to go."  
  
Two shuddered at the thought.  
  
"When we ask Vlad to help, I'll tell him it was all your idea." Two smirked.  
  
"No you won't."  
  
"Yes I will. Then he'll torture you instead." Two playfully punched One's arm.  
  
"Would you like to be tortured right now?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then shut up."  
  
"You can't talk to me like that!" Two frowned.  
  
"Yes I can."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I'm your brother." One turned and smiled at Two then playfully grabbed him in a headlock.  
  
"Hey! Ow, leggo!" Two struggled to get out of his brother's grasp. One chuckled and let Two go.  
  
After awhile of walking, the Twins finally stopped in front of a door leading to the room that Vlad hung out at (literally) when he wasn't in the attic. One slowly pushed open the door and looked in. The huge fireplace across from them was lit, and the candles that had been there when Two came to ask about Christmas were still lit and dotted about the room. The Twins spotted Vlad hanging upside down by his feet over in a dark corner. He appeared to be asleep. Two grabbed hold of One's arm and they both exchanged glances.  
  
"You wake him up." Two whispered.  
  
"No, you do it."  
  
Two swallowed then walked forward toward the hanging figure of Vlad.  
  
"Er, pardon me. Um, hello?"  
  
Vlad's eyes opened wide and he began to move, while growling. Two stepped back.  
  
"You!" Vlad glared at Two. "I thought I told you earlier to get out of here!" Vlad dropped down from where he had been hanging and straightened up.  
  
"W-we need your help with decorating the chateau for Christmas." One stuttered. Vlad quickly turned his head toward One and snarled.  
  
"The Merovingian will never allow it!" Vlad snapped.  
  
"We've already got Persephone, Cain, and Abel to help us, now we need you." Two smiled nervously.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because we've only got a night to do it in. We need as much help as we can possibly get."  
  
"We're going to ask Cujo next." Said Two.  
  
"He won't help." Vlad answered.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Because he's right over there. You can ask him yourself." Vlad pointed toward another corner where the figure of something curled up asleep was lying on the floor. Cujo was the leader of the werewolves or Dobermen. Unlike Cain and Abel, who are of the same werewolf species, Cujo had a rougher appearance that resembled a gang member. He was dressed in black leather, had black mussed hair and what resembled a beard of sorts.  
  
Two walked over to Cujo and punched him in the side with the toe of his boot. The creature growled lightly under his breath and got up.  
  
"Would you help us decorate the chateau for Christmas?" Two nervously got out, as Cujo got up in his face. Cujo glared at Two for some time, not saying a word.  
  
"I won't be apart of your little game." Cujo finally said, then turned and lay back down on the floor.  
  
"Told you he wouldn't help." Vlad coldly said, watching Two walk up and stand beside One.  
  
"So will you help us?" One asked. Vlad stood and stared at the Twins in silence, turning his head once to look at the sleeping Cujo.  
  
"You aren't gonna torture us are you?" Two broke the long silence. Vlad turned toward the Twins after hearing Two's words. He sighed.  
  
"I'll help you two out." Vlad growled under his breath. "But I promise you that I won't enjoy it."  
  
The Twins eased and sighed with relief.  
  
"Meet us in the Great Hall tonight." One said, grabbing Two and dragging him out of the room before Vlad changed his mind and ended up strapping them both to a rack or worse.  
  
Out in the hall, Two hurried ahead of One.  
  
"Let's go bring in the decorations that the Oracle gave us!"  
  
"Where are you going to put them at?"  
  
"We'll find an unused room and store them there until the Mero goes to bed." 


	13. Operation Change the Mero

The plans for decorating the chateau for Christmas were going as planned. Vlad, Cain, Abel, and Persephone had all agreed to help the Twins. Cujo, on the other hand, didn't care to be apart of it all. The Twins managed to gather up all of the boxes of decorations and hid them in an unused room where the Merovingian wouldn't find them. After hiding and waiting for the Merovingian to go to bed, the Twins crept through the chateau's halls.  
  
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" One whispered, while walking softly behind Two.  
  
"Of course I do." Two turned toward One.  
  
"Are you sure the Mero's in bed and asleep?"  
  
"He should be by now." Two slowly peeked around the corner of the Mero's bedroom door. "He's asleep. I can hear his snoring."  
  
"Yeah. Sounds about like you when you sleep." One whispered under his breath.  
  
"I don't snore!" Two snapped. "Besides, how would you know? Your bedroom is down the hall from mine."  
  
"I can hear you through the walls."  
  
Two frowned and changed the subject.  
  
"C'mon, let's get started. The night won't last forever." Two motioned for One to follow. Both phased, went through the walls, and reappeared in the room they had stored the boxes of Christmas decorations.  
  
"Where do we start?" One looked at the many boxes.  
  
"First we need a Christmas tree." Two looked around him. "Ah, there it is over there in that long box."  
  
One grabbed hold of the box Two had pointed at and pulled it toward them.  
  
"You take that down to the Great Hall and have them to put it up there."  
  
One sighed, and dragged the box out of the room and disappeared down the hall. Two opened up all the boxes and rummaged through them. He finally got out all of the strands of Christmas lights and tried to untangle them, only succeeding in getting tangled in it himself. When One returned to the room, he was taken back by the sight of Two rolling around in the floor while trying to find his way out of the lights that had wrapped themselves around him.  
  
"What are you doing?" One tried to keep from laughing.  
  
"Trying to figure out these lights!" Two grunted. He phased to get out of the tangle and reappeared beside One.  
  
"Have you plugged them up to see if they actually work?" One crossed his arms.  
  
"No." Two reached for one of the light strands' plug and walked over to an outlet. He placed it in the socket. The lights lit up with many bright colors from red and yellow to blue and green. Two took a step toward the lights, but jumped back when one of the lights popped, sending sparks into the air. One of the sparks followed the cord up to the outlet then disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
  
"Whoa!" Two looked down then looked at One. "Are they supposed to do that?"  
  
One shrugged.  
  
Two unplugged the lights, picked them up and handed them to One.  
  
"Take them downstairs."  
  
"You do it." One pushed his way past Two and started dragging gold colored tinsel out of one of the boxes.  
  
"Hm, I think I'll take these lights and string them along the banisters in the Great Hall."  
  
"Won't the Mero love that." One smirked.  
  
A little later, Two came back into the room, grabbed another handful of lights and headed back out.  
  
"On the third day of Christmas my twin brother gave to me, three straight razors, two machine guns, and a shiny new Escaladeeeeee." Two sung to himself while he walked down the chateau's hall.  
  
"What on earth was that?" One stepped out from the room and looked in Two's direction.  
  
"Me. Why?" Two turned toward One.  
  
"A bit out of tune, aren't we?" One wrinkled his eyebrows. "Besides, that's not how that song goes."  
  
"I know. It's my own version of it." Two grinned, juggling the wad of Christmas lights in his hands.  
  
"Take it easy from now on, ok?" One gave Two another weird look before disappearing back into the room.  
  
"I can sing good!" Two followed his brother.  
  
"Then do it, please, and spare our ears the misery."  
  
"Alright, I will." Two prepared to start singing again, but One quickly placed his hand over Two's mouth.  
  
"Shhhh, not right now." One whispered. "The Mero's asleep, remember? All of your caterwauling will wake him up for sure."  
  
"Caterwauling?!?" Two stuttered. "I'll have you know that my singing is not caterwauling!"  
  
"Then shut up and go finish putting up the lights."  
  
"Ok I will!" Two stormed out of the room. One shook his head and followed after his brother.  
  
When the Twins arrived in the Great Hall, Perse and Cain were busy straightening out the branches of the tree.  
  
"This isn't going to be enough lights to cover that tree." Two whispered.  
  
"I'll go see if I can find some more." Said One, making his way over to a huge box beside one of the staircases.  
  
"Here's some right here." One held up another strand.  
  
"Good."  
  
One walked over to the tree and gave the strand to Vlad, then took one end and started to string it around the top of the tree, working his way down.  
  
"Two, can I have that strand of lights you're holding?"  
  
Two walked over and connected the lights, and One finished wrapping them around the tree.  
  
"Cain, Abel, put this green stuff around in different places." Two handed the two werewolves a big bunch of green garland. Cain took it and looked it over, then looked at Two.  
  
"Where do we put it at?" he asked.  
  
"Anywhere. Place it around the top of the walls, string it around the marble statues at the base of the stairs, take a sword off of the wall and string it around it. Just be creative."  
  
Cain again looked at the green garland he held.  
  
"We weren't programmed to be creative."  
  
"Then be uncreative then." Two sighed.  
  
"Ok." Cain walked off with Abel following him.  
  
Two shook his head and walked over to where Perse, Vlad, and One were already starting to hang ornaments on the tree.  
  
"How's it going over here?" he asked, walking up beside One.  
  
"It's going fine."  
  
Two nudged One's arm.  
  
"What?"  
  
Two made a motion for One to keep quiet, then he pulled from his coat pocket a rather odd looking piece of a plant that had white berries at the end of it.  
  
"Mistletoe?" One asked.  
  
Two nodded his head and smiled.  
  
"I'm gonna hang it over the door over there."  
  
One smiled too.  
  
The rest of the night went smoothly. Not one noise was made to wake up the Mero. Everyone worked as quietly as they could, and as quickly as they could. When the early morning came around, everyone found out that staying up all night decorating was very exhausting.  
  
"I think that's everything." Perse said, coming down one of the flights of stairs and stopping at the base next to the huge white statue. "All of the boxes upstairs are empty. We've put up and decorated the tree, strung lights down the banisters, put centerpieces on every table in the restaurant, strung garland around the top of the walls, put candles in the windows, and placed red bows around in different places."  
  
The Twins groaned with exhaustion at hearing Perse talk.  
  
"Oh, we forgot something." Two suddenly said.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Just a minute and I'll go get it." Two got up from where he had been sitting on the bottom step, and made his way upstairs. Quick as he had disappeared, he came back, dragging a huge box behind him.  
  
"One, help me get this down."  
  
One got up, walked up the stairs and grabbed hold of the huge box and gave it a good yank. The box slid out of Two's hands and straight down the stairs till it hit the floor at the bottom, sending an echo through the chateau. Everyone froze.  
  
"Good going." Two whispered to One while walking past. Two grabbed the box and pulled it over to the tree and opened it up. He started pulling out beautifully wrapped gifts and packages trimmed with bows and ribbon and placed them one by one under the tree. Some were small, and some were big, but he managed to fit every last one under the branches of the tree.  
  
"There, that's it."  
  
One looked at his pocket watch.  
  
"We have just enough time to get some sleep before the Mero wakes up." he said, placing his watch back in his pocket. 


	14. The Merovingian's Story

After several hours of glorious sleep, the Twins walked down the Great Hall stairs and stopped. Persephone, Cain, Abel, and Vlad were already awake and standing around the Christmas tree, talking.  
  
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Two said with a huge grin. Everyone stopped talking and stared at him. "I said Merry Christmas. It's something you're supposed to greet people with around Christmas."  
  
Perse nodded her head as if she finally understood.  
  
"How long have all of you been up?" One asked.  
  
"Not long." Perse sleepily answered.  
  
"It had better be worth all of this." Vlad grumbled with a straight, motionless face.  
  
"We're sure it will be." the Twins said together.  
  
"Scrooge." Two playfully kidded Vlad as he walked by him. Vlad scowled at the twin.  
  
Suddenly a familiar voice made everyone turn toward a door on the other side of the room. It was the Merovingian! He stood, dumbfounded in the doorway and looked the Great Hall over from ceiling to floor.  
  
"Wha-what is all of zis??" he stuttered while turning a shocked face towards the guilty looking group beside the tree.  
  
"Uh, Merry Christmas, Master." Two smiled nervously.  
  
"What?!" the Mero's voice roared. "You two," he pointed at the Twins. "Where have you been? I've been searching this place over for the both of you!"  
  
"Uh," One's voice got lost.  
  
"Never mind." The Mero came closer to the Twins. "I just came from my restaurant."  
  
"Notice anything different?" Two smiled. The Mero glared.  
  
"Yes I did." The Mero's tone of voice told Two he'd better keep quiet.  
  
The Merovingian slowly walked around the Christmas tree in silence, and eyed it from top to bottom. The Twins, Persephone, Cain, Abel, and Vlad all stood and watched without saying a word; afraid of what the Mero would do next. The Twins glanced at the rest and noticed that Vlad was trembling a little. Vlad was menacing, cruel, and fearless and it was very odd to see him ever trembling. In away it startled the Twins.  
  
The Merovingian finally walked up in front of the Twins and eyed them.  
  
"W-why look at us?" Two stuttered.  
  
"Because you were the ones wanting to know what Christmas is." The Mero said in his slow French voice. "I just automatically assumed that you two were the cause of all of zis." The Mero gestured toward the tree. "And my restaurant."  
  
Two shuddered and lowered his head. One did the same.  
  
"Did I or did I not assume correct?"  
  
"Y-you assumed correct." Two answered in a low voice. "But they helped us!" Two quickly pointed toward Perse and the others.  
  
"So that means they're just as much apart of it as we are!" One finished.  
  
The Mero turned and looked at Perse, Vlad, Cain, and Abel.  
  
"What do you have against Christmas anyway?" Two asked.  
  
"None of your business!" The Mero snapped and turned to walk away.  
  
"We're making it our business! Now tell us!" said One.  
  
"We're tired of your secrets." Two walked toward the Mero. "Why do you forbid such a beautiful holiday when it's done nothing to hurt you?"  
  
The Merovingian stopped in the middle of the Great Hall next to the tree and stared at the floor.  
  
"It was many years ago," the Mero started. "A very long time ago. Before you two were even exiled." The Mero turned his head to look at Two. "Before any of you were exiled. I was almost sent back to the Source. The most horrible thing I have ever experienced. I chose exile at the last minute because, as all of you know, being deleted is a painful and horrible fate for any program to have to endure."  
  
The Twins looked at each other. They both knew what the Mero was talking about.  
  
The Mero continued on with his story.  
  
"When I was exiled instead of deleted, I was upset, enraged, confused, but I soon came to my senses and built this chateau to live in. I built it high in the mountains to be away from humans. It was my world, my part of the Matrix that I could control and have power over! I was determined to fight back against anyone who dared to try and stop the Matrix. I couldn't do it alone so I decided to save all programs that were sent back to the Source and give them a home here in my new world. Give them a chance to live again and to continue their life. And here we are."  
  
The Great Hall was quiet after the Merovingian had told his story.  
  
"And what does that have to do with you hating Christmas?" Two wrinkled his eyebrows, trying to understand.  
  
"The day I was sent back to the Source and almost deleted was on Christmas Day!" The Mero went off talking in French.  
  
Persephone's eyes widened and Cain and Abel exchanged glances.  
  
"You never told me that, love." Perse whispered as she walked up to her husband.  
  
"I never felt the need to. I was so upset that every time I heard of Christmas or saw anything dealing with it, it brought back memories of that moment when I felt the pain of almost being deleted. The one moment where I actually knew what it was like to be afraid."  
  
The Twins looked at each other. They both knew what the Mero was talking about all too well. They too had gone through the same thing when they were first sent back to the Source and chose exile over being deleted. There was only one thing that programs feared, and that was being sent back to the Source.  
  
Two shuddered at remembering.  
  
"It's not that I hate Christmas. I hate the memories that it brings back to me." The Mero whispered.  
  
Perse placed her arms around him.  
  
"You should forget it." Two suddenly said. Everyone turned to him. "You should forget the horrible memories that you're hanging onto. What matters is that we're all here, alive. Sure it was a terrible experience, it was a terrible experience for all of us living here in the chateau, but you don't see any of us hanging onto our memories."  
  
The Mero sighed. Two was right. He had to let go sooner or later. 


	15. A Merry Christmas After All

After comforting the Merovingian, Persephone walked back over beside Cain and Abel. Persephone, Cain, Abel, Vlad, and the Twins stood in silence as the Merovingian walked around them. He cleared his throat several times before speaking.  
  
"I suppose you're all waiting for me to give the 'ok' for all of us to celebrate Christmas?"  
  
No answer came to the Mero's question. He sighed and placed his hands behind him.  
  
"As much as I hate to, you can all go ahead and celebrate it."  
  
A rousing cheer went up from everyone, except for the Mero and Vlad.  
  
"Let's all go to the restaurant and have a huge Christmas party!" said Perse, excitedly. At the mentioning of the party, everyone walked toward the door leading to that part of the chateau. The Mero stopped Two.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For bringing me to my senses." The Mero said. Two smiled and walked out of the Great Hall. Persephone walked up to the Mero and smiled before pointing up.  
  
"Is that mistletoe up there?" the Mero asked.  
  
"Uh huh." Perse giggled then grabbed the Mero and gave him a huge kiss.  
  
"Placing that mistletoe up there was a good idea!" One laughed.  
  
"Yeah it was wasn't it?" Two smirked. "Mero and Perse smooching under the mistletoe."  
  
The Merovingian's eyes widened and he quickly pushed Perse away and looked into the next room, where the Twins were laughing and snickering.  
  
"Get out of here!" the Mero roared. The Twins took off running toward the kitchen, still laughing as they went. The Mero sighed and turned back to Perse.  
  
"Sometimes I catch myself thinking why I saved those two."  
  
"I'm glad you did." Perse smiled. "The chateau needs a little humor."  
  
"A guy can't even kiss his wife in private around here."  
  
"Shall we try it again?" Perse smiled.  
  
When the Mero and Perse finally made it to the restaurant, they found the Twins seated at their usual table, calmly waiting.  
  
"You two have fun?" Two grinned.  
  
"None of your business." The Mero grumbled, seating himself at the table.  
  
The rest of the day went better than the Twins had planned on. Surprisingly the Merovingian got into the spirit of the season, even though he pretended like he didn't enjoy it. After a Christmas banquet at the restaurant, Perse helped the Twins carry in the gifts that Two had placed under the tree the night before. The Twins passed them out to everyone, even the Mero and Vlad. After opening the gifts, the rest of the afternoon was filled with warm activities such as listening to traditional Christmas music, talking, and watching a Christmas movie.  
  
At the closing of the day, the Twins walked upstairs to their rooms.  
  
"Quite a day." One breathed.  
  
"Yeah. I don't think we've had this much excitement since the Mero kidnapped the Keymaker." Two chuckled. "I was surprised at how well the Mero accepted it all."  
  
"Kinda scary isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah." Two sighed. "Scary when you think how fast the Mero agreed to us celebrating Christmas and how he actually got into it himself."  
  
"I've never seen the Mero like that." One opened the door to his room.  
  
"Do you really think he enjoyed it? Or do you think he was just faking it to please us?"  
  
One shrugged.  
  
"You never can tell about the Mero."  
  
"Well, G'night, One." Two walked on down the hall before stopping in front of his bedroom door. "And Merry Christmas."  
  
"Merry Christmas to you too, brother." One smiled.  
  
The End  
  
Story written: 2003  
  
***************************************************** Hope everyone has a fun and safe Christmas and a happy New Year! 


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